US senators call for X and Grok to be removed from the Apple Store and Google Play Store

In a clear signal from Washington, three US senators have called on Apple and Google to remove X (formerly Twitter) and Grok from their respective app stores. The letter, dated January 9, 2026, and addressed to Tim Cook (Apple CEO) and Sundar Pichai (Google and Alphabet CEO), expresses serious concerns about the use of Grok, the AI ​​tool within the X app, in creating non-consensual, sexualized images of women and children.

Senators Ron Wyden (Oregon), Ben Ray Luján (New Mexico) and Edward J. Markey (Massachusetts) argue that the generated content violates the terms of service of both app stores and constitutes a clear breach of policy. According to reports, Grok not only manipulates images of private individuals and depicts sexualized scenarios, but also maintains an archive of potentially illegal content, including depictions of child abuse. The senators also point out that X CEO Elon Musk appears to have supported this development through reactions on social media.

The politicians' demand is based on existing guidelines from Apple and Google that explicitly prohibit content that could contribute to the exploitation or abuse of children. Apple's terms of service even prohibit content featuring children that could be classified as "offensive" or "just plain creepy". The senators emphasize that ignoring these violations would undermine the credibility of the App Store moderation practices and could weaken Apple's and Google's arguments against regulatory intervention in their app stores.

As a comparison, they highlight previous decisions by both companies to remove apps such as ICEBlock and Red Dot, even though these did not contain illegal content, but merely provided information about the activities of US authorities in regard to immigration enforcement. The senators argue that a comparable response is warranted given the seriousness of the allegations against X and Grok. At the very least, they call for the app to be temporarily suspended until the matter has been investigated. Apple and Google have been asked to submit their assessment of the situation in writing by January 23, 2026.