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   US Senators call on Apple and Google to ban X and Grok from app stores amid   
   image-generation controversy   
      
   Date:   
   Tue, 13 Jan 2026 09:17:08 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   US Senators have told Apple and Google to take action over Grok creating   
   explicit images of women and children.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   In recent weeks its emerged that Xs built-in artificial intelligence (AI)   
   chatbot Grok is being actively used to generate explicit images of children   
   and women without their consent, leading to calls for Apple and Google to   
   remove both the Grok and X apps from their respective app stores.    
      
   Now, the pressure has been ramped up after a group of US Senators wrote a   
   letter to Apple and Google demanding that they take action  and today the    
   UK's media watchdog Ofcom says it has launched an official investigation ,   
   too.    
      
   The US letter was signed by Senators Ron Wyden, Ben Ray Lujan and Edward   
   Markey, and calls for the companies to enforce your app stores terms of   
   service, as Xs generation of these harmful and likely illegal depictions of   
   women and children has shown complete disregard for your stores distribution   
   terms.    
      
   After detailing how Grok has been modifying images to depict women being   
   sexually abused, humiliated, hurt, and even killed and how Grok has    
   reportedly created sexualized images of children, the Senators pointed out   
   that these actions violate the app store policies of both Apple and Google.    
      
   Googles terms of service prohibit users from creating, uploading, or   
   distributing content that facilitates the exploitation or abuse of children,   
   the Senators say, including prohibiting the portrayal of children in a manner   
   that could result in the sexual exploitation of children.    
      
   Apple, meanwhile, expressly bars Overtly sexual or pornographic material. The   
   Senators allege that Turning a blind eye to Xs egregious behavior would make    
   a mockery of your moderation practices.   
      
   The pressure on X and Musk grows   
      
   The group of US senators also pointed to both Apple's and Googles recent   
   pushback against greater regulatory scrutiny of their app stores.    
      
   Not taking action would undermine your claims in public and in court that    
   your app stores offer a safer user experience than letting users download    
   apps directly to their phones, the Senators wrote, adding that This principle   
   has been core to your advocacy against legislative reforms to increase app   
   store competition and your defenses to claims that your app stores abuse    
   their market power through their payment systems.    
      
   Apple and Google have proven that they can move quickly to ban apps, the   
   Senators note. Your companies quickly removed apps that allowed users to   
   lawfully report immigration enforcement activities, like ICEBlock and Red    
   Dot, they argue. Unlike Groks sickening content generation, these apps were   
   not creating or hosting harmful or illegal content, and yet, based entirely    
   on the [US Governments] claims that they posed a risk to immigration   
   enforcers, you removed them from your stores.    
      
   The Senators say they hope that Apple and Google will demonstrate a similar   
   level of responsiveness and initiate swift action to remove the X and Grok   
   apps from your app stores.    
      
   Regardless of whether Apple and Google take action, X and Grok are facing   
   increasing pressure around the world. The governments of both Indonesia and   
   Malaysia recently blocked Grok in light of the image-generation controversy,   
   and with legislators in the UK, European Union and India also closely   
   scrutinizing the AI tool, they may not be the only countries to make a move.    
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/us-senators-call-on-apple-an   
   d-google-to-ban-x-and-grok-from-app-stores-amid-image-generation-controversy   
      
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