Fez — A coalition of women’s rights organizations, tech watchdogs, and progressive advocacy groups has called on Apple and Google to remove the social media platform X and its related artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, from their app stores, citing the spread of sexually explicit and abusive content.
The call was made in an open letter published on Wednesday, accusing the apps — owned by Elon Musk — of violating app store rules by generating and distributing illegal material.
UltraViolet, one of the campaign’s leading backers published the text in full on their platform.
Allegations of harmful content
According to the groups behind the letter, Grok has recently generated sexually degrading and violent images involving women and minors, prompting renewed scrutiny of how the apps are distributed on major mobile platforms. The coalition argues that allowing X and Grok to remain available through Apple’s App Store and Google Play effectively enables the spread of abusive material.
“We are really imploring Apple and Google to take this extremely seriously,” said Jenna Sherman, campaign director at UltraViolet, in comments reported by Reuters. She argued that the companies are facilitating harm by continuing to host the apps despite repeated warnings.
The coalition also includes the National Organization for Women, the progressive group MoveOn, and the parent advocacy organization ParentsTogether Action.
Growing international pressure
The renewed push comes after X was flooded earlier this year with hyper-realistic images depicting women and minors in sexually suggestive contexts. While X has since adjusted Grok’s settings so that images generated or edited by the chatbot are no longer automatically shared on public timelines, tests cited by Reuters indicate that the tool can still generate sexualized images on request.
Several governments have already taken action. Malaysia and Indonesia have banned Grok outright over concerns about explicit content, while authorities in Europe and the United Kingdom have launched investigations or demanded explanations from the company.
Institutions distancing themselves from X
Pressure on the platform is also growing domestically in the United States. This week, the American Federation of Teachers announced it was leaving X, citing concerns over indecent images of children produced by Grok and shared on the platform.
X did not respond to requests for comment regarding the open letter. Its parent company, xAI, dismissed the criticism with the phrase “Legacy Media Lies.” Apple and Google have also not publicly commented on whether they plan to review X and Grok’s status in their app stores.
A test of corporate responsibility
Advocacy groups say the issue now goes beyond content moderation and into corporate accountability.
As Apple and Google, Jenna Sherman argues, often present themselves as leaders in child safety and user protection, and that their response to the Grok controversy will demonstrate how those values are applied in practice.
