{"id":7632,"date":"2026-04-03T22:56:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T22:56:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/7632\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T22:56:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T22:56:38","slug":"tim-cook-and-sundar-pichai-are-cowards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/7632\/","title":{"rendered":"Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai are cowards"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">Since X\u2019s users started using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/ai-artificial-intelligence\/855832\/grok-undressing-children-csam-law-x-elon-musk\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Grok to undress women and children<\/a> using deepfake images, I have been waiting for what I assumed would be inevitable: X getting booted from Apple\u2019s and Google\u2019s app stores. The fact that it hasn\u2019t happened yet tells me something serious about Silicon Valley\u2019s leadership: Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai are spineless cowards who are terrified of Elon Musk.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">Here\u2019s the relevant Apple <a href=\"https:\/\/developer.apple.com\/app-store\/review\/guidelines\/#safety\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">App Store developer guideline<\/a>: \u201cApps should not include content that is offensive, insensitive, upsetting, intended to disgust, in exceptionally poor taste, or just plain creepy.\u201d Huh! How about that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup qnnwq2 _1xwtict9\">They sold their principles for power, and now they don\u2019t even control their own companies<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">Here\u2019s Google\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/googleplay\/android-developer\/answer\/16810878?hl=en&amp;visit_id=639035836323180675-1019695139&amp;rd=1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">version of the same guideline<\/a>, which is even clearer: \u201cApps that do not prohibit users from creating, uploading, or distributing content that facilitates the exploitation or abuse of children will be subject to immediate removal from Google Play. This includes all child sexual abuse materials.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">But booting X from these app stores for its flagrant violation of policy means upsetting Musk and the entire right-wing media ecosystem he controls through X \u2014 and with it, directly upsetting the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/policy\/858075\/trump-venezuela-maduro-kidnapping-spectacle\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">clout-chasing content vampires<\/a> who currently run the United States. Cook\u2019s Apple has a massive dependency on China, and smartphones, computers, and chips are currently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/news\/647666\/trump-exempts-smartphones-laptops-chips-tariffs\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">exempt from the tariffs on China<\/a>. Cook can present Donald Trump with as many golden gifts as he wants, but those tariffs don\u2019t have to stay that way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">Google\u2019s Pichai is similarly weak. Trump has threatened Google numerous times over his placement in search results, and so far YouTube has managed to mostly avoid scrutiny over its content moderation policies because Pichai has been content to coddle Trump with promises that everything he does is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2024\/10\/27\/24280799\/sundar-sundar-whos-a-great-guy-very-smart\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the biggest thing in Google search history<\/a>. Google also can\u2019t risk upsetting Trump while AI policy remains deeply contested, and having an unhappy Musk influencing that policy is a nightmare of corruption.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">This is the trap these men have gotten themselves into: They sold their principles for power, and now they don\u2019t even control their own companies. Welcome to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2025\/1\/20\/24346317\/trump-gangster-tech-regulation-corruption-grift\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">gangster tech regulation<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup qnnwq2 _1xwtict9\">Apple\u2019s lawyers heavily implied that a naked bananaman called Mr. Peely was somehow inappropriate for court<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">Apple and Google did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">Less than five years ago, I sat through the interminable <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2021\/5\/3\/22412899\/epic-apple-trial-rules-investment-app-payment\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Epic v. Apple antitrust trial<\/a>. Real heads will remember that Apple\u2019s lawyers heavily implied that a naked bananaman called Mr. Peely was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2021\/5\/10\/22429267\/epic-v-apple-fortnite-app-store-trial-peely-day-6\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">somehow inappropriate for court<\/a>. This came after a week where Apple argued that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2021\/5\/7\/22425759\/epic-apple-trial-app-store-itch-io-offensive-sexualized-unspeakable-games-day-5\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">an indie storefront that users could install via Epic<\/a> was a problem because it hosted porny games, calling games on <a href=\"http:\/\/itch.io\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Itch.io<\/a> \u201coffensive and sexualized.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">You know what\u2019s \u201coffensive and sexualized,\u201d you worthless fucking cowards? Nonconsensual AI-generated images of women in bikinis spreading their legs, and of children with so-called \u201cdonut glaze\u201d on their faces \u2014 which, by the way, were being generated <a href=\"https:\/\/copyleaks.com\/blog\/grok-and-nonconsensual-image-manipulation\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">at a rate of one per minute<\/a>. I\u2019d also call that \u201coffensive, insensitive, upsetting, intended to disgust, in exceptionally poor taste\u201d and especially \u201cjust plain creepy\u201d! Do you need a back brace to stand up straight, buddy? Because at this point, I am certain you haven\u2019t got a single vertebra.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">Hey, does anyone else remember when Tumblr got booted from the App Store over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2018\/11\/20\/18104366\/tumblr-ios-app-child-pornography-removed-from-app-store\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">pornographic images of children<\/a>? I guess the real problem was that Tumblr wasn\u2019t owned by Musk, not its violation of App Store policy. Whoopsie!<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup qnnwq2 _1xwtict9\">Can Apple and Google even identify their values beyond their commitment to \u201cshareholder value\u201d?<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">It is genuinely unbelievable to me that I wasted hours of my actual life on a court case where Apple explained it needed total control of its App Store to protect its users. Total control of the App Store was Apple\u2019s main argument against antitrust enforcement: The company insisted that its monopolistic control of what users could install on their phones was essential to create a walled garden where it could protect children from unsafe content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">Does Google have the same problem with its app store, Google Play? Of course it does, and of course it has made all the same arguments as Apple, although it does allow sideloading apps on Android. But it still hasn\u2019t enforced its rules and pushed X to alternative app stores. Why? Hey Google, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-in\/news\/world\/tech-titans-sundar-pichai-and-elon-musk-share-a-laugh-at-donald-trump-s-inauguration\/ar-AA1xwWUt\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">show me the photo of Sundar Pichai giggling with Elon Musk at Donald Trump\u2019s inauguration<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">The only consolation here is that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg almost certainly has steam coming out of his ears. Remember when Apple yanked Meta\u2019s App Store enterprise certificate because <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2019\/1\/31\/18206020\/apple-facebook-internal-ios-apps-restores-enterprise-certificate\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">it was taking too much data<\/a>? Ah yes, those were the days. At this point, it kinda seems like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/news\/659301\/apple-executive-lied-under-oath-epic-alex-roman\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Alex Roman wasn\u2019t the only Apple witness brazenly lying on the stand<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">I never want to hear any moral grandstanding from these boys ever again. The next time Tim Cook says \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/tech\/tech-news\/apple-ceo-tim-cook-slams-facebook-privacy-human-right-it-n860816\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">privacy is a human right<\/a>,\u201d the only possible response is to laugh in his face. I mean, Apple and Google are fine distributing an app that has created an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/politics\/2026\/01\/grok-x-musk-deepfake-renee-good-ice\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">undressed image Grok made of Renee Nicole Good<\/a>, the mother who was shot by ICE in Minneapolis. How do you plan to defend getting rid of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/news\/791170\/iceblock-app-store-removed-by-apple\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ICEBlock app<\/a> while allowing X to generate degrading images of a woman ICE killed? Can Apple and Google even identify their values beyond their commitment to \u201cshareholder value\u201d? What\u2019s your fucking endgame here, guys?<\/p>\n<p>Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Elizabeth LopattoClose<img alt=\"Elizabeth Lopatto\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"_1bw37385 x271pn0\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'\/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'\/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'\/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'\/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3C\/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot;)\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775256998_607_ELIZABETH_LOPATTO.0.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth Lopatto<\/p>\n<p class=\"fv263x1\">Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n<p>FollowFollow<\/p>\n<p class=\"fv263x4\"><a class=\"fv263x5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/authors\/elizabeth-lopatto\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">See All by Elizabeth Lopatto<\/a><\/p>\n<p>AntitrustClose<\/p>\n<p>Antitrust<\/p>\n<p class=\"fv263x1\">Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n<p>FollowFollow<\/p>\n<p class=\"fv263x4\"><a class=\"fv263x5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/antitrust\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">See All Antitrust<\/a><\/p>\n<p>AppleClose<\/p>\n<p>Apple<\/p>\n<p class=\"fv263x1\">Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n<p>FollowFollow<\/p>\n<p class=\"fv263x4\"><a class=\"fv263x5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/apple\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">See All Apple<\/a><\/p>\n<p>ColumnClose<\/p>\n<p>Column<\/p>\n<p class=\"fv263x1\">Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n<p>FollowFollow<\/p>\n<p class=\"fv263x4\"><a class=\"fv263x5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/column\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">See All Column<\/a><\/p>\n<p>GoogleClose<\/p>\n<p>Google<\/p>\n<p class=\"fv263x1\">Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n<p>FollowFollow<\/p>\n<p class=\"fv263x4\"><a class=\"fv263x5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/google\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">See All Google<\/a><\/p>\n<p>PolicyClose<\/p>\n<p>Policy<\/p>\n<p class=\"fv263x1\">Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n<p>FollowFollow<\/p>\n<p class=\"fv263x4\"><a class=\"fv263x5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/policy\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">See All Policy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>TechClose<\/p>\n<p>Tech<\/p>\n<p class=\"fv263x1\">Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n<p>FollowFollow<\/p>\n<p class=\"fv263x4\"><a class=\"fv263x5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/tech\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">See All Tech<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Twitter &#8211; XClose<\/p>\n<p>Twitter &#8211; X<\/p>\n<p class=\"fv263x1\">Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n<p>FollowFollow<\/p>\n<p class=\"fv263x4\"><a class=\"fv263x5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/twitter\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">See All Twitter &#8211; X<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Since X\u2019s users started using Grok to undress women and children using deepfake images, I have been waiting&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7633,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[153],"tags":[4050,633,7397,812,1075,608,2110,7398],"class_list":{"0":"post-7632","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sundar-pichai","8":"tag-antitrust","9":"tag-apple","10":"tag-column","11":"tag-google","12":"tag-policy","13":"tag-sundar-pichai","14":"tag-tech","15":"tag-twitter-x"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/116343248382146986","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}