Facebook parent company

Meta

has filed a lawsuit against Joy Timeline HK Limited, the entity behind CrushAI, an app that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to generate nude images without consent. The lawsuit, filed in Hong Kong where the company is based, aims to prevent

CrushAI

from advertising on Meta’s platforms, including Instagram and Facebook.The legal action follows a January report from 404 Media, which revealed that CrushAI—also known as Crushmate—had placed over 5,000 ads on Meta's platform. Data showed that 90% of CrushAI’s traffic originated from Meta, indicating that the app’s advertisements were highly effective in directing users to nonconsensual image-generation tools.

Meta acknowledged the challenge of enforcing its policies against such advertisers. “This is a highly adversarial space and bad actors are constantly evolving their tactics to avoid enforcement, which is why we continue to invest in the best tools and technology to help identify and remove violating content,” the company said previously.

While talking about the latest action, Meta said, “This legal action underscores both the seriousness with which we take this abuse and our commitment to doing all we can to protect our community from it.” “We’ll continue to take the necessary steps—which could include legal action—against those who abuse our platforms like this,” Meta added. Meta announced that any removed ads from nudify apps will now be shared with other tech companies via the Tech Coalition’s Lantern programme. This will enable major platforms such as Google, Discord, Roblox, Snap, and Twitch to take similar actions against violators. Additionally, Meta is enhancing its detection technology to better identify deceptive ads, even when they do not explicitly feature nudity.