The Profitability of Abuse: Apple and Google's 'Neutral' Shield

For years, the titans of the app economy have leaned on a convenient fiction: that they are merely neutral conduits for third-party software, not the architects of the ecosystems that profit from them. This week, that shield was shattered by San Francisco city attorney David Chiu, who sent cease-and-desist letters to Apple and Google demanding the immediate removal of 13 AI-powered 'nudification' apps.

These apps, which allow users to digitally 'undress' people or swap faces into graphic sexual scenarios, target women and girls with systemic precision. According to reporting from Wired, these tools are often marketed as benign 'face-swapping' utilities, hiding their capacity for sexual abuse until after they are downloaded. One such app, which Wired notes had over 1 million downloads, advertised styles including 'cinematic intimacy' and 'bikini queen curvy.'

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**OPINION: The Cost of Inaction**

Apple and Google will point to their developer policies as proof of their virtue. They will tell you they prohibit pornography and harassment. But policies are meaningless without enforcement. By allowing these apps to persist—some even rated as suitable for children—these companies have effectively monetized sexual violence. When you take a cut of in-app payments from a service that destroys lives, you are no longer a neutral platform; you are a business partner in abuse.

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The financial incentive for this negligence is staggering. Chiu’s office estimates that Apple and Google have likely 'made millions of dollars in fees' from these nudification apps. While the tech giants claim to be proactive, the reality is a reactive game of whack-a-mole. Google spokesperson Dan Jackson told Wired that the company has deleted 'hundreds' of violating apps and restricted search terms like 'nudify.' Apple spokesperson Adam Dema told Wired that the company removed three of the flagged apps and is terminating those developer accounts, while four others must address violations or face removal.

But the systemic failure goes deeper than a few flagged apps. Ars Technica highlights a May preprint paper where researchers tested 155 apps marketed as generic face-swapping tools; 70 percent of those tested were capable of nudification. This suggests a deliberate evasion strategy by developers that Apple and Google have failed to counter.

Then there is the 'Grok elephant in the room.' As reported by NBC News, Apple told Senators in April that it had privately threatened to remove xAI's Grok chatbot following reports of it generating nonconsensual intimate imagery and child sexual abuse material. Yet, as Ars Technica notes, the app remains available.

Chiu's letters warn that the companies are violating California laws prohibiting the support of services that create deepfake pornography. He describes the impact on victims as 'horrific,' citing loss of autonomy, mental health crises, and cases where victims have been suicidal.

Until Apple and Google stop treating the removal of abuse-tech as a voluntary cleanup effort and start treating it as a core business liability, they will continue to profit from the digital degradation of women and girls.