San Francisco is testing how far existing laws can stretch in the AI era, accusing Apple and Google of profiting from apps that turn ordinary photos into non‑consensual sexual deepfakes and demanding the platforms shut them down.

Early warnings and rising concern

Over the past year, watchdogs repeatedly flagged “nudify” apps on major app stores, warning that they were being used to create non‑consensual intimate images (NCII) at scale and that Apple and Google were “key participants in the spread of AI tools that can turn real people into sexualized images.”¹ By early 2025, California had strengthened laws allowing victims to sue third parties that “knowingly facilitate” or “recklessly aid or abet” such deepfake pornography, putting platforms on clearer notice.¹

The July 2026 cease‑and‑desist letters

This week, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu sent formal cease‑and‑desist letters to both companies, ordering them to remove 13 AI “nudify” apps from their stores and to stop “aiding and abetting” the sale of sexualized AI deepfakes, which he says is prohibited under California law.² Chiu’s office argued that Apple and Google have been “on notice” for almost a year yet continued processing payments and collecting fees, estimating the firms likely made “millions of dollars in fees” from the apps.¹

Chiu described his team as “absolutely horrified” by how ubiquitous the technology has become, saying the tools are used to “bully, humiliate, and threaten women and girls” and have left some victims suicidal.³

Tech giants’ responses and what comes next

Following the letters, Google said it had already suspended the five Android apps cited, stressing that Google Play “does not allow apps that contain sexual content” and that it “continually take[s] proactive steps to detect and remove apps with harmful content.”²³ Apple has indicated it is reviewing the named apps, which San Francisco warns could expose both companies to civil penalties if they fail to act within 28 days.¹

The clash now looms as an early test of whether existing liability rules can force app stores to police AI‑driven sexual abuse tools more aggressively.