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Apple and Google ordered to purge ‘nudify’ apps from App Stores
San Francisco's chief law officer has instructed Apple and Google to purge dozens of artificial intelligence applications designed to digitally create fake intimate images of people without their consent. The move enforces existing California statutes that criminalize facilitating non-consensual deepfake pornography and permit victims to sue third parties that enable its distribution.
Authorities allege the technology companies received multiple formal warnings beginning in January yet maintained these tools on their platforms while collecting fees from their sale, potentially generating millions in revenue. The city has set a four-week deadline for removal and signalled that failure to comply could trigger civil litigation.
In short
- San Francisco ordered Apple and Google to remove deepfake pornography applications that generate non-consensual intimate imagery
- Both companies had received repeated warnings over six months but continued hosting the apps whilst collecting transaction fees
- The firms face civil penalties if they don't comply within 28 days under California's 2024 and 2025 laws against facilitating synthetic sexual abuse material
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
These applications are specifically designed to create non-consensual intimate imagery, which California law criminalises and causes demonstrable harm through harassment and reputation damage. The technology companies received formal warnings beginning in January but continued offering these tools whilst collecting revenue, breaching their legal obligations not to facilitate illegal activity and violating their own terms of service. Removal ensures platforms do not profit from enabling serious harm to vulnerable people.
The case against
Whilst these applications enable harmful conduct, government-mandated removal raises important questions about intermediary responsibility and enforcement mechanisms. Some argue that responsibility should rest primarily with the users and creators who commit the actual illegal acts, rather than requiring platforms to police all potential misuse of tools they host—a distinction that matters for technology policy broadly. Additionally, government mandates for removal without traditional due process safeguards raise concerns about precedent and appropriate limits on government power to direct editorial decisions by private companies.
Explained simply
"Nudify" applications are artificial intelligence tools that generate fake intimate and sexual images of people from photographs without their knowledge or consent. These apps have become readily available and enable anyone to create convincing fake images of real people.
The images created by these applications can cause serious harm to the people depicted through harassment, blackmail or reputational damage. California has made it illegal to create or distribute non-consensual intimate images, whether real or artificially created, recognising this as a form of harm. Victims are permitted to pursue legal action against those responsible.
Apple and Google operate the world's dominant app stores. These platforms host many nudify applications and collect revenue from their sale, making the tech companies key players in their distribution.