San Francisco sues Apple and Google over AI nudify apps
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San Francisco city attorney David Chiu sent cease-and-desist letters to Apple and Google demanding the removal of 13 AI-powered "nudify" apps from their app stores, accusing the companies of "aiding and abetting" the spread of nonconsensual intimate images. The action forms part of a wider campaign by Chiu against deepfake platforms, following an earlier lawsuit against 16 websites offering similar AI-driven image manipulation of women and girls, and highlights ongoing concerns that major tech platforms are profiting from and inadequately policing apps used to create nonconsensual explicit imagery.
Chiu argued that Apple and Google had likely earned substantial revenue from in-app payments linked to the offending apps and called for stronger store moderation. His claims were bolstered by an earlier report from the Tech Transparency Project, which found nudification apps regularly evading review, some actively promoted on the App Store and Google Play and several rated suitable for all ages. In response, a Google spokesperson said the company had removed hundreds of apps with nudification features, including five flagged directly by Chiu, and reaffirmed its ban on sexual content; Apple did not comment. The episode sits alongside broader industry pressure over deepfakes, including calls from Meta's Oversight Board for stronger user protections and multiple lawsuits against Elon Musk's xAI over nonconsensual deepfake content.
- SF attorney demands Apple, Google remove 13 AI "nudify" apps
- Follows Chiu's earlier lawsuit against 16 similar deepfake websites
- Google says it removed hundreds of such apps; Apple didn't comment
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“Nudify” apps use artificial intelligence to alter ordinary photos so that people appear naked or in sexual images. When this is done without the person’s permission, the images are commonly described as non-consensual intimate images, even if they are fabricated rather than photographs of real events.
Apple and Google run the main app stores for iPhones and Android phones, where developers can offer apps and take payments from users. San Francisco’s city attorney, David Chiu, is arguing that the companies should prevent such apps being distributed through their stores and remove ones that breach their rules.
The dispute is part of wider concern about deepfakes: convincing AI-made or AI-altered images, audio or video of real people. Critics say these tools can be used for harassment and abuse, particularly against women and children, while technology companies face pressure to improve checks on what their platforms allow.
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Originally published by Engadget as “Apple and Google ordered by San Francisco attorney to take action against ‘nudify’ apps”.