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App Stores Profit from Non-Consensual Nude Image Apps
16 Apr
Summary
- App stores offer software that generates non-consensual nude images.
- These apps have been downloaded 483 million times and earned $122 million.
- Tech companies face pressure to remove these harmful applications.
Major mobile app stores are reportedly still providing access to applications capable of creating non-consensual sexualized images, barely a week after a report highlighted the issue. These apps, often searchable with terms like "nudify," allow users to alter images, including those of celebrities, to appear nude or partially undressed. The Tech Transparency Project documented that these applications have collectively been downloaded 483 million times and generated $122 million in revenue.
Despite policies prohibiting explicit content and efforts by tech companies to remove flagged apps, new ones frequently emerge. Critics argue that companies like Apple and Google not only approve these apps but also profit from them, sometimes even directing users to them through search suggestions. Google stated that many violating apps have been suspended, and an investigation is ongoing, while Apple reported removing 15 identified apps and contacting developers of others for non-compliance.
