Apple has temporarily halted its artificial intelligence (AI) feature for news apps following criticism over repeated inaccuracies in alerts. The tech giant faced backlash from media outlets including the BBC, who complained that their articles were being incorrectly summarised.
Organisations such as Reporters Without Borders and Bluesky had urged Apple to suspend the feature as early as December, citing concerns about misinformation. One misstep involved a BBC article on Luigi Mangione, which was erroneously headlined as him having shot himself, rather than being charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, as reported by .
Other inaccuracies included claims from the New York Times and the Washington Post that tennis player Rafael Nadal had come out as gay, and prematurely declaring Luke Littler as the winner of the World Darts Championship final. "We are working on improvements and will make them available in a future software update", an Apple spokesperson told the BBC.
Despite initial complaints from the BBC in December, Apple did not respond or take action until January, promising a software update to clarify the AI summary's role instead of completely discontinuing it. This response drew further criticism, leading Apple to disable the feature entirely.
"We’re pleased that Apple has listened to our concerns and is pausing the summarising feature for news."
A BBC spokesperson added: "We look forward to working with them constructively on next steps. Our priority is the accuracy of the news we deliver to audiences which is essential to building and maintaining trust".
This latest development follows a wider clampdown on the tech giant, which is set to face a º£½ÇÊÓƵ class action trial over allegations of charging "excessive and unlawful" fees on its App Store. Apple is the first major tech firm to face trial under the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's collective regime, amid a growing trend of large-scale class action lawsuits targeting tech industry leaders in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ.
Apple has been approached for comment.
