Sign the Letter to AGs: Hold App Stores Accountable for Deepfake Abuse

The letter to all 56 state and territory attorneys general reads: 

I am joining a group of women, parents, grandparents, and allies to call for immediate collective legal action from state and territory attorneys general against Apple and Google for facilitating the proliferation of non-consensual exploitative materials (NCEM) and particularly child sexual abuse material (CSAM) via their app stores. 

As a state Attorney General, you are the public’s main line of defense against tech and consumer harms. The recent win in the lawsuit against Meta for its intentional exploitation of children  — which was the largest Big Tech settlement ever — demonstrates the collective power of AGs and the crucial role you all have to play against the large companies causing us harm. It is far past time to use that power to hold Apple and Google legally accountable and liable for enabling the digital sexual abuse and child sexual abuse crisis we find ourselves in.

It’s increasingly clear that Apple and Google play a critical role in:

1. Platforming deepfake or “nudify” apps, including apps that can create CSAM
2. Directing users to deepfake or “nudify” apps, including apps capable of generating CSAM, through ads and algorithmic amplification
3. Profiting off of deepfake abuse and CSAM

These companies both say that they have taken steps to stop “nudify” apps on the app stores, and yet, the crisis only worsens. Just last week, a report found that 298 or 332 Meta CSAM ads directed users to AI image- and video-generator apps in the Apple or Google app stores; A couple weeks before that, another researcher found that bots on Telegram—which is available on both app stores—are rewarding users for creating sexual deepfakes of women and children; and schools, parents, and school districts are scrambling to get children informed of the risks of these apps as the new school year begins. 

The onus of protecting kids from sexualization should be shouldered by the app stores making these tools available in the first place, not by consumers. Back to school should not come with fear of digital sexual abuse. It’s sickening and we are fed up. Please, I implore all AGs to join forces and take action against Apple and Google. The safety of every one of us, and especially every one of our children, is on the line.

We’re calling on attorneys general (AGs)--our frontline tech and consumer defenders--to bring legal action against Apple and Google for fueling an AI sexual abuse crisis.

Unfortunately, this crisis of AI-generated sexual material, and especially AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) continues to worsen, and the corporate culprits are getting away with it. Last week, a report found that nearly 300 Meta ads containing CSAM directed users to “nudify” apps in the Apple or Google app stores. Researchers also found that bots on Telegram—which is available on both app stores—are actually rewarding users for creating sexual deepfakes of women and children; and, perhaps most concerning of all, a Federal Court just ruled that AI child sexual abuse images are constitutionally protected as “free speech.” The word horrified doesn’t even begin to cut it. This is sexual abuse—and women and girls are bearing the brunt of it. 

We know attorneys general are the right players to take on Apple and Google because they just took on social media giant Meta--and won. That’s why it’s crucial that we make it crystal clear to our AGs that we want them to hold Apple and Google accountable for fueling AI-enabled child sexual abuse. We hope you'll join us by signing onto this urgent letter.