RegulationHigh importance
WIRED: network of more than 400 apps and domains hides sexually abusive deepfakes behind “innocent” AI apps
A WIRED investigation (02/11) describes a network of more than 400 apps and domains linked to Chinese-language developers and Hong Kong entity KeLing Technology Limited. Apps that present as pet portraits, language lessons, or workout coaches query a server (locale, language, identifier, ad referral) and, under certain conditions, load a web interface with explicit templates, including sexual violence. Researchers at AI Forensics and Infoblox found about 500 linked domains and tens of thousands of Facebook/Instagram ads; in one snapshot, Play Store apps totaled more than 350,000 downloads. After WIRED contacted them, Apple removed 19 apps; Google had already pulled most; Meta, which banned KeLing from ads in 2025, acted against thousands of accounts and pages and blocked 209 apps from advertising.
Published in edition no. 8 of Noticiário do Joãozinho ·
Translated by Joãozinho AI from the original Brazilian Portuguese edition. Facts, numbers and sources are the same as in the original; quotes, video titles and source names stay in their original language. Read the original in Portuguese
Original source
https://www.wired.com/story/hundreds-of-mundane-ai-apps-are-hiding-abusive-deepfake-features/