Apple has tightened its developer guidelines to ban apps that use artificial intelligence to generate offensive content, as well as those that disguise themselves as legitimate applications to pass App Store reviews before introducing features that allow users to create nude images.
The company updated its guidelines over the weekend, strengthening requirements for AI-powered apps and user-generated content.
Developers are also required to implement adequate safeguards to moderate and prevent the distribution of objectionable or offensive material.
“Apps that host user-generated content are required to filter objectionable material, give users a way to report offensive content, and let users block abusive accounts. Apps containing hidden or undocumented features are also prohibited on the App Store, including apps that misrepresent their purpose during review and only reveal harmful capabilities — such as ‘nudification’ — after approval, a tactic commonly known as bait-and-switch,” the company said in a blog post.
Apple said it would remove apps that introduce features not included in the versions submitted for App Store review.
The iPhone maker also updated the wording in its legal guidelines to reinforce its ban on apps that promote human trafficking or the exploitation of children.
Last year, Apple said its review process blocked more than 150,000 apps from reaching users and removed 193,000 developer accounts over fraud and abuse.
In July, the city of San Francisco,. United States ordered Apple and Google to remove nudification apps from their respective app stores.
