Meta Sues Hong Kong-Based Deepfake App Maker Accusing It Of Running 87,000 Banned Ads As Zuckerberg Faces Pressure Over AI-Generated Nudity And Exploitation

On Thursday, Meta Platforms, Inc. META filed a lawsuit against a Hong Kong-based developer of an explicit AI deepfake app, alleging the company violated its advertising policies tens of thousands of times and intensified growing concerns over the misuse of artificial intelligence for non-consensual content.

What Happened: Meta is suing Joy Timeline HK Limited, the creator of CrushAI, an app capable of generating sexually explicit deepfakes, reported CNN.

The company claims the app maker ran over 87,000 ads that violated Meta's rules across Facebook and Instagram by promoting "nudifying" technology — tools that digitally remove clothing from images of people without consent.

According to the complaint, filed in a Hong Kong court, the defendants created a network of 170 business accounts and 135 Facebook pages, managing ads that largely targeted users in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Germany and the U.K.

Also Read: Meta Hits 1 Billion Monthly AI Users, Eyes Future With Subscriptions

Meta says it has spent $289,000 responding to regulatory inquiries and investigating the violations. "This is an adversarial space," the company said in a statement, noting that such actors "evolve their tactics to avoid detection," the report added.

Why It's Important: Tech platforms are under increasing pressure to combat non-consensual, explicit deepfakes, which are easier to create with AI.

Victims have included public figures like Taylor Swift and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as high school girls. In response, the Take It Down Act—banning the sharing of such content and mandating swift removal by platforms—was signed into law last month.

In January, reports revealed that CrushAI, a nudifying app, ran thousands of ads on Meta platforms, despite Meta’s policies banning adult content and sexual exploitation.

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This led Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) to question Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg about the company’s oversight.

Earlier this month, CBS News found more ads promoting similar apps, some using sexualized deepfakes of celebrities. In response, Meta said it removed the ads, deleted associated Pages and permanently blocked the related URLs.

Price Action: Meta shares declined 0.11% on Thursday and dropped another 1.75% in pre-market trading on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro.

Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings indicate a continued upward trend for META across short, medium and long-term periods. More detailed performance data is available here.