San Francisco’s City Attorney’s Office has sent cease-and-desist letters to Apple and Google this week, demanding the removal of 13 AI-powered “face-swap” applications from their app stores, according to WIRED. The letters accuse the tech giants of profiting from apps that are overwhelmingly used to target women and girls.
The targeted applications, described as “nudify” apps, use artificial intelligence to manipulate images. According to WIRED, the City Attorney’s Office characterizes these as apps that enable the creation of non-consensual intimate imagery through face-swapping technology.
The cease-and-desist action represents San Francisco’s attempt to hold the major app store operators accountable for hosting applications that facilitate this type of image manipulation. By demanding removal of these 13 specific apps, the City Attorney’s Office is taking direct action against what it views as technology being used to harm women and girls through the creation of manipulated intimate images without consent.