A series of social media adverts for AI apps have been banned by a UK watchdog for promoting "the creation of sexually explicit content and objectification of women". The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) stated that five ads uploaded to Meta platforms for AI companion and video generating apps had objectified and sexualised women, including through harmful gender stereotypes.
Controversial Advertisements
One of the ads used sexualised images of a girl under 18 to promote an AI companion app, while others invited users to upload images of their "crush" and turn those images into "sizzling" videos. Nicky Baker of the ASA remarked that such content had the potential "to cause real-world harm". She emphasized:
“"We take a firm line on ads that are likely to cause serious or widespread offence and these ads are a clear example of why that matters. Encouraging and condoning the objectification of women and the creation of explicit content from people's images has the potential to cause real-world harm."
The ASA also noted that many of the banned ads promoted the creation of sexually explicit content using real women's images without their consent. This decision follows the recent UK legislation outlawing apps that create non-consensual deepfake nude imagery, which was prompted by outrage over X's chatbot Grok complying with requests to nudify images of women on the platform.
Regulatory Actions
The ASA indicated that the law had changed during its investigations and that ads identified in the future would be considered in light of both the law and its own rules. If ads are found to be illegal, the ASA may notify platforms and law enforcement.
