Musk says xAI to take legal action against Apple over App Store rankings
SAN FRANCISCO : Billionaire Elon Musk said on Monday his artificial intelligence startup xAI would take legal action against Apple, accusing the iPhone maker of breaching antitrust regulations in managing the App Store rankings.
'Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation. xAI will take immediate legal action,' Musk said in a post on his social media platform X.
Musk did not provide evidence to support his claim. Apple, OpenAI, and xAI did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
ChatGPT currently holds the top spot in the App Store's 'Top Free Apps' section for iPhones in the US, while xAI's Grok ranks fifth and Google's Gemini chatbot sits at 57th.
ChatGPT also leads the rankings on the Google Play Store, according to Sensor Tower data.
Apple has a partnership with OpenAI that integrates ChatGPT into iPhones, iPads and Macs.
'Hey @Apple App Store, why do you refuse to put either X or Grok in your 'Must Have' section when X is the #1 news app in the world and Grok is #5 among all apps? Are you playing politics?,' Musk said in an earlier post Monday.
Musk's comments come as regulators and rivals intensify scrutiny of Apple's control over its App Store.
In April, a US judge ruled that Apple violated a court order requiring it to allow greater competition in its App Store and referred the company to federal prosecutors for a criminal contempt investigation, in a case brought by 'Fortnite' maker Epic Games.
Apple was handed a €500 million euro fine by the EU antitrust enforcer in April, saying its technical and commercial restrictions prevented app developers from steering users to cheaper deals outside the App Store in breach of the Digital Markets Act.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
2 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Legal spotlight falls on Roblox as US state sues over child safety and online predators
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 16 — The US state of Louisiana has filed a lawsuit accusing Roblox of facilitating the exploitation of children, prompting the online game platform to reject the claim as 'untrue' yesterday. A lawsuit filed by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill contends that Silicon Valley-based Roblox facilitates distribution of child sexual abuse material and the exploitation of minors. 'Roblox is overrun with harmful content and child predators because it prioritises user growth, revenue, and profits over child safety,' Murrill maintained in a release. The lawsuit charges Roblox with 'knowingly and intentionally' failing to implement basic safety controls to protect children. Nearly 82 million people use Roblox daily, with more than half of them being younger than 18 years of age, according to the suit. 'Any assertion that Roblox would intentionally put our users at risk of exploitation is simply untrue,' the company said yesterday in a posted response to the filing. 'No system is perfect and bad actors adapt to evade detection,' the company added, stressing that it works 'continuously' to promote a safe online environment on the platform. The Roblox online gaming and creation platform was founded in 2004 and allows users to play, create and share virtual experiences. Roblox is one of the most popular online platforms for children, 'offering a vibrant world of interactive games, imaginative play, and creative self-expression,' according to the nonprofit Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI). A FOSI guide available at its website 'walks parents through the basics of Roblox, the ways children commonly engage with it, and how to use built-in features like content filters, chat settings, and screen time controls' for safety. Roblox announced major safety upgrades late last year, introducing remote parental controls and restricting communication features for users under 13. US-based FOSI endorsed the changes at the time, its chief saying Roblox was taking 'significant steps toward building a safer digital environment.' — AFP
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
'You liar': Elon Musk and Sam Altman's AI battle erupts on social media
The feud between the two dates back to 2018, when Musk left the OpenAI board. — AFP The long-running rivalry between tech titans Sam Altman and Elon Musk reignited this week with a public clash over Apple's App Store rankings and alleged manipulation of the X algorithm. On Monday night, Musk threatened to sue Apple, accusing the company of "unequivocal antitrust violations" for allegedly giving preferential treatment to OpenAI's ChatGPT, which currently holds the top spot on the US App Store. "Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1," Musk wrote. He added that his company, xAI, "will take immediate legal action." Altman, CEO of OpenAI – which he co-founded with Musk in 2015 – quickly fired back. "This is a remarkable claim given what I have heard alleged that Elon does to manipulate X to benefit himself and his own companies and harm his competitors and people he doesn't like," Altman wrote, referencing a 2023 Platformer report detailing how Musk allegedly ordered changes to X's algorithm to boost his own visibility. The feud between the two dates back to 2018, when Musk left the OpenAI board. Since then, he has become one of Altman's most vocal critics, recently refiling a lawsuit in August over OpenAI's partnership with Microsoft. The exchange on Monday soon turned personal. "You got (3 million) views on your (expletive) post, you liar, far more than I've received on many of mine, despite me having 50 times your follower count!" he wrote. Altman countered with a challenge: "Will you sign an affidavit that you have never directed changes to the X algorithm in a way that has hurt your competitors or helped your own companies?" He added that he would apologise if Musk could truthfully confirm it. The spat followed a CNBC interview last week in which Altman appeared to brush off Musk's criticisms. "I don't think about him that much," he said. Musk, meanwhile, claimed his Grok chatbot outperforms GPT-5, calling the latest OpenAI model "already worse" than his own. – San Francisco Chronicle/Tribune News Service
The Sun
7 hours ago
- The Sun
OpenAI staff seek $6 billion share sale to SoftBank, Thrive Capital
SAN FRANCISCO: Current and former OpenAI employees are in talks to sell nearly $6 billion worth of shares to investors including SoftBank Group and Thrive Capital. The deal could value the ChatGPT maker at $500 billion, a significant jump from its current $300 billion valuation. This reflects OpenAI's rapid growth in users and revenue, as well as fierce competition in the AI sector. SoftBank, Thrive Capital, and Dragoneer Investment Group, all existing OpenAI investors, have not yet commented on the potential transaction. Bloomberg News reported discussions are in early stages, with the final sale size subject to change. The secondary share sale follows SoftBank's involvement in OpenAI's $40 billion primary funding round. OpenAI's revenue doubled in the first seven months of 2025, hitting an annualized $12 billion run rate. The company is projected to reach $20 billion in revenue by year-end, driven by ChatGPT's success. Microsoft-backed OpenAI now boasts 700 million weekly ChatGPT users, up from 400 million in February. - Reuters
