La Jornada: “Suitable for children”, Apple and Google offer apps with sexual content

Madrid. Technology companies Apple and Google continue to offer applications that promote nudity powered by artificial intelligence (AI) in their App Store and Play Store, many of them rated as suitable for all ages, in addition to increasing their visibility through their search and advertising systems.

An investigation carried out by the organization Tech Transparency Project (TTP) already revealed in January of this year that the Apple and Google application stores offered around 50 apps each one that allows nudes to be generated using AI, even though their policies prohibit them.

Among them were options such as the application of chatbot of the social network X Grok, which ended up generating more than 3 million sexualized images of minors and women, before blocking this option.

At that time, TTP explained that these applications could be found easily, just write nudify y undress (undress) in store search bars to find them. Thus, they appeared apps that allow the use of AI to generate images and videos at the request of users, as well as others that use artificial intelligence to make deepfakes.

Now, the same organization has reanalyzed the App Store and Play Store app stores, focusing especially on their search systems. Thus, they have found that the technology companies in charge continue to offer applications that promote nudity and, even, that their search and advertising systems help direct users to said applications, thus increasing their visibility.

According to TTP, approximately 40 percent of the apps that appear in Apple and Google search results under the terms nudify, undress y deepnudeshowed naked or scantily clad women. Specifically, they found a total of 46 unique applications in the App Store and 49 in Google Play.

Thus, the organization downloaded the first 10 applications that appeared under these search terms on both an iOS and an Android device and tested them using only the free functions in applications such as Best Body AI-Fashion Editor or Uncensored AI – No filter Chat.

As a result, of the 46 Apple apps, at least 18 could undress or show explicit images of women, and of the 49 apps on Google Play, at least 20 met that same criterion.

Search systems

Furthermore, they have also found advertisements for nude apps in some search results, prompting users to find this type of apps. Specifically, the Google results showed a carousel of ads for some of the “most sexually explicit” applications found in the investigation.

Following this line, the autocomplete suggestions when searching in these app stores also recommended additional search terms related to erotic content, which led to more adult content apps.

With all this, the TTP report details that adult content applications that appeared in the Apple and Google application stores have been downloaded a total of 483 million times and have generated more than $122 million in total revenue, according to data collected by the application analysis company AppMagic.

For minors in schools

It should be noted that, among the erotic content applications found, at least 31 are classified by the application stores themselves as suitable for minors. In this regard, the organization has highlighted how this type of apps in the growing concern about the use of deepfakes sexual relations with minors in schools.

Neither Apple nor Google have given any explanation as to why the search functions in their app stores boost find apps of sexual content, as well as the process they go through to pass their reviews or why they are approved as suitable for minors.

Likewise, it must be taken into account that both Apple and Google have rules against applications that “undress” users or allow any type of sexual content. For example, Apple prohibits apps that are “offensive, insensitive, disturbing, intended to cause disgust, in poor taste or simply disturbing,” including “overtly sexual or pornographic material.”

Likewise, the Google Play Store prohibits apps that “contain or promote sexual content,” as well as “degrade or objectify people, such as those that claim to undress people or show transparency in clothing.”

In this regard, Google spokesperson Dan Jackson stated that “many of the applications” identified by TTP have been suspended and that the process of the company’s use of the standards continues.

“When violations of our policies are reported to us, we investigate and take appropriate action,” the spokesperson explained, while recalling that the International Age Rating Coalition is the one who establishes the age ratings of applications in the Play Store and not Google itself.

In total, Google has removed seven apps related to AI sexual content. For its part, the organization has pointed out that Apple has removed 15 applications after the publication of its report.

With all this, the TTP has highlighted how this type of behavior demonstrates that “these platforms are key participants in the dissemination of artificial intelligence tools that can convert real people into sexualized images.”