Apple, Google benefit from harmful 'nudify' apps, San Francisco argues
San Francisco is demanding that Apple and Google take action against artificial intelligence-powered “nudify” apps that target women and girls. (Image from Shutterstock)
San Francisco is demanding that Apple and Google take action against artificial intelligence-powered “nudify” apps that target women and girls.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu on Thursday sent legal notices to the tech giants telling them to remove 13 face-swapping apps—which allow users to “undress” people—from their app stores, according to a story from Wired.
“Generating nonconsensual intimate images is illegal, harmful and completely unacceptable,” Chiu told Wired.
In the notices, Chiu said Apple and Google have been “aiding and abetting” the sale of these explicit images, despite California laws that prohibit the support of services that create deep-fake pornography, Wired reports. The apps have an internal payment system, and Chiu said a portion of payments go to Apple and Google.
Google spokesperson Dan Jackson told Wired that the company has deleted hundreds of apps with “nudifying” capabilities, including the ones that Chiu’s office flagged.
Adam Dema, an Apple spokesperson, also told Wired that the company has removed three of the apps flagged by Chiu and is “in the process of terminating their developer accounts from our program.” He said Apple is asking other developers to “address policy violations or risk being removed, as well.”
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