San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu has demanded Apple and Google remove 13 'AI nudify' apps, citing a new 2025 California law enabling penalties for third-party facilitators of nonconsensual intimate deepfakes.

San Francisco City Attorney Demands Apple, Google Remove 'AI Nudify' Apps, Citing New State Law

San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu has issued cease-and-desist letters to Apple and Google, demanding the tech giants remove 13 "AI nudify" applications from their respective app stores and cease profiting from them. The action, taken around July 16-17, 2026, leverages a 2025 California law that allows for civil penalties of at least $25,000 per violation against third-party facilitators of nonconsensual intimate deepfakes. Chiu, who authored California AB 621 (2023) to broaden liability to app store operators, accused Apple and Google of "profiting off apps that exploit women and girls."

The City Attorney's move follows reports from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) in January and April 2026, which identified approximately 100 "nudify" apps. These applications were estimated to have been downloaded collectively around 480 million times, with potential combined revenues of $120 million, per reporting from WIRED. Apple and Google both stated they have policies against such content and have removed some of the flagged apps, with Apple noting the termination of developer accounts for three apps and Google indicating it has deleted "hundreds" with similar features. As of this report, a direct press release from the San Francisco City Attorney's office detailing the exact legal code or the specific app names has not been publicly located.