The company has announced a new policy that prohibits ads for deepfake porn or those that promise to digitally undress people without consent.
While Google has had a ban in place against explicit ads for years, this marks the first time the company is banning advertising that promote deepfake porn creation services.
Previously, the policy was less specific, covering ads promoting “text, image, audio, or video of graphic sexual acts intended to arouse.”
The new Google ads policy update prohibits ads “promoting synthetic content that has been altered or generated to be sexually explicit or contain nudity.”
This includes websites, apps, and services offering deepfake pornography creation tools or instructional content on how to create non-consensual nude images using AI.
Apple also joined the fight, expelling apps from its store that were essentially deepfake porn factories.
Some developers shamelessly promoted these apps with Instagram ads using taglines like “undress any girl for free.”
Even Pornhub, the leading online distributor of adult content, has had a ban on deepfakes within their platform since 2018.
In summary, Google is taking stronger action against the dubious realm of computer-generated pornography. Ads for deepfake porn or those that promise to digitally undress people without consent are prohibited, according to a new policy the company has announced.
Google has been prohibiting explicit advertisements for years, but this is the first time the company is doing so for ads that advertise deepfake porn production services. The policy used to be less restrictive and covered advertisements that featured “text, image, audio, or video of graphic sexual acts intended to arouse.”. “.”.
Promotion of “synthetic content that has been altered or generated to be sexually explicit or contain nudity” is prohibited by the most recent update to Google’s ads policy. “This comprises websites, applications, and services that provide deepfake pornography production tools or tutorials on how to use AI to produce non-consensual nude photos.”.
Google clearly states in the update that it views violations as “egregious,” with no second chances for offenders and account suspensions and permanent advertising bans. Violators “will not be allowed to advertise with us again,” according to the tech giant itself. “.
Google and Apple have also had to constantly remove deceptive apps and games from their app stores that trick users into thinking they are harmless but actually have the ability to create explicit nude images. Similar ploys have been used by malicious actors to direct traffic to their AI porn tools, with Meta’s ad platforms and even adult websites’ promotional channels falling victim to such tactics.
This crackdown also comes after an unsettling trend of people being harmed by widely disseminated pornographic images created by AI without their permission. When Taylor Swift’s Photoshopped nude photos were taken down from social media in January after being viewed tens of millions of times, it made people angry.
Congressmen expressed concern about deepfakes’ potential to cause “irreversible emotional, financial, and reputational harm,” with a particular focus on the effects they could have on women. Subsequently, a bipartisan bill known as the DEFIANCE Act was presented last month, giving victims the ability to take creators and distributors of non-consensual digital forgeries to court.
Apple entered the battle as well, removing from its store apps that were essentially deepfake factories for pornographic content. With catchphrases like “undress any girl for free,” some developers blatantly advertised these apps on Instagram. Deepfakes are prohibited on Pornhub’s platform since 2018.” Pornhub is the largest online provider of adult content.
