San Francisco’s city attorney, David Chiu, has sent cease-and-desist letters to Apple and Google demanding the removal of 13 AI face-swapping apps that can generate non-consensual nude images. The action matters because the city argues the companies may be profiting from technology that facilitates sexual abuse and that stronger app-store moderation is needed to prevent such tools reaching users.

The letters cite California laws against supporting services that create deepfake pornography and say the platforms take a share of in-app payments. Google said it had removed hundreds of violating apps, including the five Android apps identified by the city, while Apple said it had removed three flagged apps and was terminating their developer accounts; other developers were told to address policy breaches or risk removal. Both firms prohibit pornography, abuse and harassment under their developer policies, but researchers have repeatedly found nudification apps in their stores, sometimes with child-suitable ratings.