Google To Penalise Advertisers Promoting Deepfake Videos & AI-Generated Explicit Content

While Google's policy against sexually explicit content on the Play Store isn't new, there have been instances where apps exploit loopholes by promoting "face-swapping."

Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated and deepfake explicit content is an issue which has grabbed a lot of attention recently especially with the infamous case of Rashmika Mandana and Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. AI-generated content like these is becoming a growing concern on many platforms. Facebook was under the heat for such content recently and now Google has updated its Inappropriate Content Policy to prohibit promoting synthetic content that has been altered or generated to be sexually explicit or contain nudity.

The tech giant said that the policy will be implemented on May 30, 2024. The company while warning the people who are promoting this said, "We take violations of this policy very seriously and consider them egregious. If we find violations of this policy, we will suspend your Google Ads accounts upon detection and without prior warning, and you will not be allowed to advertise with us again."

Some apps recently have been promoting deepfake and AI-generated explicit content. In the past week Apple also banned three apps from its App Store in the same context.

Loopholes & Violation

While Google's policy against sexually explicit content on the Play Store isn't new, there have been instances where apps exploit loopholes by promoting "face-swapping," a practice that, while not explicitly sexual, can lead to the promotion of nudity and deepfake pornography on other platforms.

Google recently announced that it prevented over 2.28 million apps from being published in 2023 due to policy violations, marking a significant increase from the 1.43 million apps rejected in 2022. The company has also taken various measures to monitor and control the undisclosed background activities of such apps.

Furthermore, Google has turned down more than 200,000 app submissions in 2023 to ensure the appropriate use of sensitive permissions such as background location or SMS access. The company has collaborated with providers of software development kits (SDK) to limit access to and sharing of sensitive data, thus enhancing user privacy.