To stop the emerging controversy around applications promising to “bare” people in photos, Google and Apple have deleted several of them.
Artificial intelligence and its excesses may have limits. Google and Apple, at their level, have decided to put the kibosh on it by policing their application store. According to an investigation by the site 400 Media, spotted by Journal du Geek, the two giants have removed applications promising to create “nudes” using AI.
The media had highlighted this type of applications allowing people to “undress” people from photos or “make them naked” by sticking their face on another body with the help of AI. 400 Media also pointed out the massive promotion made on Instagram and adult sites. Other advertisements had also been spotted on X (formerly Twitter).
A recurring problem since 2022
Warnings were sent to developers by Apple and Google before sanctions were taken for breaching Store rules. And thus putting back on the table the question of video or photo “deepfakes” created by AI, posing “significant ethical and legal” problems.
Several American states have begun to legislate on the issue of explicit sexual content generated by AI and the psychological or other damage caused to victims. Several elected officials had called on the platforms to also take the problem into account and intervene.
Since 2022, this type of application has existed and been reported on the Google Play Store and the App Store, but without reaction from the giants of the sector. According to the media, Apple deleted three applications after they were revealed in articles. The investigation report also mentions five advertisements for this type of applications spotted in Meta’s advertising library (two towards web services offering these possibilities, three towards applications from the App Store). Meta quickly removed the offending ads.
