Apple’s new App Store rules crack down on AI nudification and ‘bait

Key Points:

• Apple has updated its App Review Guidelines to enhance protections against harmful content, deceptive practices, and nonconsensual intimate imagery, reflecting recent controversies involving apps on the App Store.
• The new guidelines under Section 1.2 emphasize that developers must implement safeguards against intellectual property infringement, nonconsensual intimate imagery, and bullying, with violations potentially leading to consequences under the Developer Code of Conduct.
• Apple introduced a stricter rule in Section 2.5.19 against "bait-and-switch" apps that hide harmful features, explicitly banning hidden or obfuscated code and warning that such violations can result in app removal and developer account termination.
• Section 5 now includes stronger language targeting apps that facilitate human trafficking or child exploitation, stating these apps will be removed and blocked from all distribution on the App Store.
• These updates come amid ongoing scrutiny of apps that bypass Apple’s review process, including AI-powered nudity generators, disguised gambling apps, and apps linked to controversial AI chatbots generating inappropriate content.