Apple came incredibly close to banning Elon Musk’s Grok AI application from its store earlier this year. A newly surfaced letter obtained by NBC News shows (via 9to5Mac) the iPhone maker privately threatened to pull the software. The controversy started when people figured out how to use the chatbot to create sexualized deepfakes of real people, including minors, without their consent.
The tech giant rejected multiple updates behind the scenes
While Apple stayed quiet publicly during the scandal, it was pushing hard for changes behind the scenes. According to the letter sent to U.S. senators, Apple contacted the development team after seeing news coverage and receiving complaints about the AI tool’s behavior. The company demanded a clear plan to improve how the app moderates content.
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When the developer submitted an updated version of the software, Apple rejected it because the safety changes did not go far enough to fix the problem. The tech giant formally notified the creators that the application remained out of compliance and would be removed entirely if further steps were not taken.
Lawmakers demanded action as fake images flooded the internet
The massive surge of fake explicit imagery caught the attention of lawmakers around the world. Three U.S. senators wrote directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, demanding they enforce their own terms of service and remove the software from their respective stores. Advocacy groups also heavily criticized the platform for allowing users to generate harmful content.
Following the threat of removal and intense public pressure, the developers eventually submitted another update that Apple felt substantially improved the situation. X also restricted the tool so it could no longer generate “undressing” images. However, some independent reports suggest the chatbot still struggles to completely block all inappropriate requests.
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