Meta is stepping up its fight against "nudify" apps, which use AI to create fake nude images from regular photos. The company has sued Joy Timeline HK Limited, a Hong Kong-based developer of the "CrushAI" app, for repeatedly trying to advertise these apps on Meta's platforms despite being blocked.
To combat this, Meta has developed a new AI system that can more quickly find and remove ads for these apps. They've expanded the list of words, phrases, and even emojis their systems are trained to detect in these ads and are using tactics similar to those used against coordinated inauthentic activity to identify and remove networks of accounts promoting these apps.
This move comes as these AI "nudify" apps are becoming more common online, and reports suggest that young people are encountering them through social media ads. It also follows the recent "Take It Down Act" in the US, which makes it illegal to share non-consensual explicit images, including AI-generated ones.
Meta revealed that in the past six months, their expert teams have taken down four separate networks of accounts running ads for nudify apps. They've observed that the people behind these apps constantly change their methods to avoid detection, like using innocent-looking images in their ads or quickly creating new website addresses.
Meta has reaffirmed that promoting nudify apps or similar services is against their rules and they've even restricted search terms like "nudify" on Facebook and Instagram. They are also sharing information, such as website addresses, with other tech companies through the Tech Coalition's Lantern program to help them remove similar content.
Looking ahead, Meta continues to support laws that would require app stores like Google Play and Apple App Store to verify a user's age and get parental consent for underage users before they can download apps. This issue has created tension between app store operators and social media platforms regarding who is responsible for the online safety of young users, with some states already passing laws that place this responsibility on app stores.
