Meta sues company for using Facebook ads to promote AI app that creates fake nude images
Meta (Credit: REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes) Meta sues Hong Kong firm Joy Timeline over AI nude image ads
The company has been promoting the CrushAI app that creates non-consensual explicit AI images
The lawsuit aims to block such ads on Meta platforms in Hong Kong
Earlier this year, news reports pointed out that Meta's Instagram was witnessing a bug, showcasing explicit content in the Reel feed. This content included violent sexual attacks, grievous injuries, and other inappropriate videos. While Meta called it a mistake at that time, another similar issue has caught the eye. But this time, Meta is on the other side. In a recent blogpost, the company called out a Hong Kong-based company for advertising consensual intimate imagery using Facebook ads. Meta has also decided to take legal actions against the same.
The blogpost stated, "We're suing Joy Timeline HK Limited, the entity behind CrushAI apps, which allow people to create AI-generated nude or sexually explicit images of individuals without their consent. We've filed a lawsuit in Hong Kong, where Joy Timeline HK Limited is based, to prevent them from advertising CrushAI apps on Meta platforms."
Meta stated that the app alters photos of individuals, frequently targeting women, to produce non-consensual nude images. The company said Joy Timeline repeatedly broke advertising policies by trying to evade its ad review system, leading Meta to file a lawsuit in Hong Kong to block the ads from resurfacing.
'This legal action underscores both the seriousness with which we take this abuse and our commitment to doing all we can to protect our community from it,' Meta said in a statement. 'We'll continue to take the necessary stepsâ€'which could include legal actionâ€'against those who abuse our platforms like this.'
The lawsuit follows rising concern from researchers and lawmakers over the spread of so-called 'nudify' apps. These apps have been found online, in app stores, and in Meta's own ad system.
In February, US Senator Dick Durbin wrote to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, urging the company to address its involvement in allowing Joy Timeline to advertise CrushAI. The app is accused of breaching Meta's own policies on adult content, sexual activity and harassment. Durbin's concerns were backed by investigations from tech outlet 404 Media and research conducted by Cornell Tech's Alexios Mantzarlis, which uncovered that over 8,000 CrushAI advertisements appeared on Meta's platforms within just the first fortnight of the year.
In response, Meta has said it is stepping up enforcement measures by deploying enhanced detection systems capable of identifying such adverts even in the absence of explicit nudity. The company is also implementing content matching tools to swiftly detect and remove duplicate or copycat ads.
Furthermore, Meta stated it has been collaborating with both external experts and its own specialised internal teams to monitor how developers of 'nudify' apps attempt to circumvent content moderation efforts. 'We have applied the same strategies used to dismantle coordinated inauthentic behaviour networks in order to locate and eliminate groups of accounts responsible for these advertisements,' Meta explained. The company reported that it has taken down four such networks since the beginning of the year.
Meta added that it intends to share intelligence on these apps with other technology companies to assist them in addressing similar threats on their own platforms.
Earlier this year, news reports pointed out that Meta's Instagram was witnessing a bug, showcasing explicit content in the Reel feed. This content included violent sexual attacks, grievous injuries, and other inappropriate videos. While Meta called it a mistake at that time, another similar issue has caught the eye. But this time, Meta is on the other side. In a recent blogpost, the company called out a Hong Kong-based company for advertising consensual intimate imagery using Facebook ads. Meta has also decided to take legal actions against the same.
The blogpost stated, "We're suing Joy Timeline HK Limited, the entity behind CrushAI apps, which allow people to create AI-generated nude or sexually explicit images of individuals without their consent. We've filed a lawsuit in Hong Kong, where Joy Timeline HK Limited is based, to prevent them from advertising CrushAI apps on Meta platforms."
Meta stated that the app alters photos of individuals, frequently targeting women, to produce non-consensual nude images. The company said Joy Timeline repeatedly broke advertising policies by trying to evade its ad review system, leading Meta to file a lawsuit in Hong Kong to block the ads from resurfacing.
'This legal action underscores both the seriousness with which we take this abuse and our commitment to doing all we can to protect our community from it,' Meta said in a statement. 'We'll continue to take the necessary stepsâ€'which could include legal actionâ€'against those who abuse our platforms like this.'
The lawsuit follows rising concern from researchers and lawmakers over the spread of so-called 'nudify' apps. These apps have been found online, in app stores, and in Meta's own ad system.
In February, US Senator Dick Durbin wrote to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, urging the company to address its involvement in allowing Joy Timeline to advertise CrushAI. The app is accused of breaching Meta's own policies on adult content, sexual activity and harassment. Durbin's concerns were backed by investigations from tech outlet 404 Media and research conducted by Cornell Tech's Alexios Mantzarlis, which uncovered that over 8,000 CrushAI advertisements appeared on Meta's platforms within just the first fortnight of the year.
In response, Meta has said it is stepping up enforcement measures by deploying enhanced detection systems capable of identifying such adverts even in the absence of explicit nudity. The company is also implementing content matching tools to swiftly detect and remove duplicate or copycat ads.
Furthermore, Meta stated it has been collaborating with both external experts and its own specialised internal teams to monitor how developers of 'nudify' apps attempt to circumvent content moderation efforts. 'We have applied the same strategies used to dismantle coordinated inauthentic behaviour networks in order to locate and eliminate groups of accounts responsible for these advertisements,' Meta explained. The company reported that it has taken down four such networks since the beginning of the year.
Meta added that it intends to share intelligence on these apps with other technology companies to assist them in addressing similar threats on their own platforms. Join our WhatsApp Channel
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