Meta and TikTok have been displaying thousands of advertisements for AI applications that generate synthetic videos of people kissing without consent, raising serious ethical concerns about the normalization of deepfake technology.
Current situation: Social media platforms have been running numerous advertisements for AI apps that can create artificial videos of any two people kissing, based solely on uploaded photos.
- Meta has shown over 2,500 ads across Instagram and Facebook, with approximately 1,000 currently active
- TikTok has displayed around 1,000 ads to millions of European users
- Many ads feature celebrities like Scarlett Johansson and Emma Watson, while others promote the ability to “kiss your ex” or “kiss your crush”
Platform responses: The two major social media platforms have taken divergent approaches to addressing these controversial advertisements.
- Meta maintains that these ads do not violate their policies, as they don’t contain explicit sexual content
- TikTok removed the ads after being contacted, citing their policy requiring consent from individuals featured in advertisements
- Both Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store continue to host these applications, which have millions of downloads
Broader implications: The proliferation of these apps represents a concerning trend in the normalization of non-consensual deepfake content.
- The apps are similar to “AI nudifier” tools that create non-consensual pornographic content
- Many of the companies behind these apps are based outside the US, in countries like UAE, Italy, and China
- The technology is being marketed as harmless entertainment, despite serious privacy and consent concerns
Expert perspectives: Industry specialists warn about the potential dangers of normalizing such technology.
- Haley McNamara from the National Center for Sexual Exploitation emphasizes that content doesn’t need to be explicit to be exploitative
- Experts warn these apps could serve as a gateway to more graphic forms of image-based abuse
- AI analysts like Alice Siregar describe encountering these ads as “incredibly creepy” and “deeply unethical”
Related concerns: The emergence of AI kissing apps parallels other troubling developments in AI-generated content.
- The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has received over 7,000 reports of AI-generated child exploitation material
- There have been multiple instances of high school students creating deepfake nude imagery of classmates
- Viral deepfake videos, such as Taylor Swift hugging Kim Jong Un, have garnered millions of views
Looking ahead: The mainstreaming of deepfake technology through seemingly innocent applications poses significant ethical and societal challenges that current regulatory frameworks appear ill-equipped to address. The continued availability of these apps, despite their clear potential for misuse, suggests a growing disconnect between technological capabilities and appropriate safeguards for personal privacy and consent.
Recent Stories
DOE fusion roadmap targets 2030s commercial deployment as AI drives $9B investment
The Department of Energy has released a new roadmap targeting commercial-scale fusion power deployment by the mid-2030s, though the plan lacks specific funding commitments and relies on scientific breakthroughs that have eluded researchers for decades. The strategy emphasizes public-private partnerships and positions AI as both a research tool and motivation for developing fusion energy to meet data centers' growing electricity demands. The big picture: The DOE's roadmap aims to "deliver the public infrastructure that supports the fusion private sector scale up in the 2030s," but acknowledges it cannot commit to specific funding levels and remains subject to Congressional appropriations. Why...
Oct 17, 2025Tying it all together: Credo’s purple cables power the $4B AI data center boom
Credo, a Silicon Valley semiconductor company specializing in data center cables and chips, has seen its stock price more than double this year to $143.61, following a 245% surge in 2024. The company's signature purple cables, which cost between $300-$500 each, have become essential infrastructure for AI data centers, positioning Credo to capitalize on the trillion-dollar AI infrastructure expansion as hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Elon Musk's xAI rapidly build out massive computing facilities. What you should know: Credo's active electrical cables (AECs) are becoming indispensable for connecting the massive GPU clusters required for AI training and inference. The company...
Oct 17, 2025Vatican launches Latin American AI network for human development
The Vatican hosted a two-day conference bringing together 50 global experts to explore how artificial intelligence can advance peace, social justice, and human development. The event launched the Latin American AI Network for Integral Human Development and established principles for ethical AI governance that prioritize human dignity over technological advancement. What you should know: The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, the Vatican's research body for social issues, organized the "Digital Rerum Novarum" conference on October 16-17, combining academic research with practical AI applications. Participants included leading experts from MIT, Microsoft, Columbia University, the UN, and major European institutions. The conference...