San Francisco Targets Apple and Google Over Profits From AI ‘Nudify’ Apps

San Francisco Targets Apple and Google Over Profits From AI ‘Nudify’ Apps
San Francisco officials are escalating a clash between tech regulation and app store power, accusing Apple and Google of profiting from AI tools that can strip clothes off people in images without their consent.

Early July: Cease-and-desist letters land

This week, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu sent cease-and-desist letters to both Apple and Google, demanding they remove 13 AI-powered “nudification” apps from their app stores. According to reporting reviewed by Chiu’s office, the apps can be used to generate nude images of someone without their consent, and the letters argue that by hosting and distributing the software, the companies are “aiding and abetting” the sale of sexualized AI deepfakes prohibited under California law.

The scale and harm of ‘nudification’ tools

Wired’s review, cited in the legal action, found that nudification apps make it “trivially easy to transform ordinary photos of real people into explicit images,” allowing bad actors to remove clothing, alter features, place people in sexualized positions, or swap victims’ faces onto naked bodies. Chiu said his office was “absolutely horrified” by how ubiquitous the technology has become, noting it disproportionately targets women and children and is used to “bully, humiliate, and threaten women and girls,” sometimes leaving victims suicidal.

Officials estimate that Apple and Google have likely “made millions of dollars in fees” from these apps by not acting sooner and failing to build stronger detection systems, effectively profiting from what Chiu calls a public nuisance.

Platform responses and next steps

Google spokesperson Dan Jackson said the five Android apps flagged by Chiu have already been suspended, stressing that Google Play “does not allow apps that contain sexual content” and that the company “continually take[s] proactive steps to detect and remove apps with harmful content.” The letters demand broader removal—five apps on Google Play and eight on Apple’s App Store—and signal further legal action if the companies fail to comply or tighten their app screening.

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