In a city that has long grappled with the consequences of unchecked technological power, San Francisco's city attorney has drawn a legal line between platform neutrality and platform complicity. By issuing cease-and-desist letters to Apple and Google, David Chiu is asking a question that the digital age has deferred too long: when a company profits from tools that strip away a person's dignity without consent, does it share in the harm? The answer California's 2024 deepfake liability law offers is yes — and San Francisco is prepared to enforce it.
S.F. threatens Apple, Google with legal action over nonconsensual deepfake apps
Nonconsensual sexual deepfakes have been used to harass students, public figures, and other victims, with particular concern about images of minors.