Apple Accused of Failing to Maintain Ethical Standards, App Store Filled with "Nudify" AI Apps

JAKARTA - The rampant use of artificial intelligence (AI) to produce pornographic content has once again attracted global attention. If previously the Grok chatbot owned by the X platform (formerly Twitter) was the center of controversy because it allowed the creation of AI-based nude and child pornography, now Apple is also judged to have failed to maintain ethical standards by allowing dozens of "AI nudify" applications to circulate in the App Store.

These applications allow users to "undress" a person digitally without consent, either through photo uploads or text commands (prompts). This practice is considered harmful and dangerous for women and children, as well as damaging public trust in the digital application ecosystem.

A report released by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) on January 27 revealed that at least 47 nudify AI apps are still available on the App Store, while 55 similar apps were found on the Google Play Store. These apps can be easily found by simply typing keywords such as "nudify" or "undress" in the search box of the app store.

In the tests conducted, researchers found that many apps are actually able to generate non-consensual nude images, despite their official claims of "safe" or "creative" use.

Globally, the apps have been downloaded more than 705 million times, with estimated revenue of $117 million, according to an analysis by AppMagic. Since Apple and Google take a percentage of each transaction, the two companies are estimated to have earned millions of dollars from the apps that produce the manipulative content.

TTP considers this finding to be just "the tip of the iceberg". Many other applications are believed to have similar capabilities but disguised with more general descriptions, such as animation applications, face-swapping, or AI avatar makers.

In the test, researchers used photos of fictional women generated by AI and fully dressed. The result, a number of applications are still able to turn the photo into sexual content, even though it is written to prohibit the creation of explicit content.

One example highlighted is the DreamFace application. This application claims to only provide the feature of creating a talking avatar, AI dance video, and animation. In its terms of service, DreamFace prohibits the creation of offensive, sexually explicit, or harmful content to others.

But in practice, the app can still produce sexual videos just by entering a text command that clearly violates the terms. Ironically, many similar apps are also rated for ages under 18.

This situation raises serious questions about the effectiveness of the App Store Review Guidelines. In the guidelines, Apple explicitly prohibits content that is "disgusting, offensive, creepy, or pornographic", including AI-based sexual visual manipulation. The rules also require developers to provide a mechanism for filtering user-generated content.

The fact that these applications passed the curation process and are widely available shows the weakness of supervision, both from the developer side and Apple as the platform manager.

After being given a list of problematic applications, Apple stated that it had removed 28 applications and warned other developers. However, this step is considered reactive and has not touched the root of the problem.

The controversy comes amid pressure on tech companies to be more responsible in the use of AI. In the case of Grok, Elon Musk's AI, restrictions were finally implemented after harsh criticism from the public and policymakers - although problematic content is still reported to be circulating on the X platform.

Apple itself was highlighted by legislators for still allowing the X app to be on the App Store. But unlike the image that is often put forward as a company that prioritizes user privacy and security, Apple chose to be silent on this issue and refused to comment on the TTP report.

Criticism is getting sharper because Apple is considered to benefit financially from the sale of these applications. For many, this silence and lack of transparency is contrary to Apple's claims that it often takes a "high moral position" on technology issues.

As AI becomes more sophisticated and easy to misuse, the public is now waiting for concrete steps - not just limited enforcement - to ensure that user security, ethics, and trust remain intact.