Meta China Partner Linked to Nudify Ads
TTP found thousands of ads promoting sexual deepfake apps despite Meta’s stated zero-tolerance policy globally.
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[Image source: Krishna Prasad/MITSMR India]
A Chinese advertising agency authorized to sell ads on Meta’s platforms was linked to thousands of Facebook and Instagram promotions for apps that can create sexual deepfakes, according to the Tech Transparency Project (TTP).
Beijing-based GatherOne, one of 11 official agents listed by Meta in China, appeared as the advertiser and payer for campaigns promoting tools that could digitally undress women or place their faces in pornographic videos, TTP said.
The watchdog examined disclosures in Meta’s European Union Ad Library and identified 210 Facebook pages linked to GatherOne or its Hong Kong entity. Together, the pages ran about 30,800 ads for face-swapping and other AI apps between April and June.
Forty-three pages ran more than 7,600 ads for apps that TTP verified could generate nude or sexualized images of women. Ads on 160 pages featured sexualized imagery, simulated sex acts or promotions for adult AI services.
Meta removed violating ads run by 179 of the pages, or 85%, for breaching rules covering sexual exploitation, solicitation, nudity or explicit language, TTP said. At least two dozen pages continued advertising after earlier promotions were removed.
The findings raise questions about Meta’s oversight of its Chinese advertising partners. Facebook and Instagram are blocked in China, but local businesses can reach users overseas through approved agencies.
Meta bans promotions for tools that create non-consensual intimate imagery. Its advertising rules also prohibit nudity, sexual activity and sexually suggestive content.
“We do not allow non-consensual intimate imagery or nudify apps on our platform, and we take aggressive steps to combat them,” Cindy Southworth, Meta’s head of women’s safety policy, told Bloomberg News.
Meta said advertisers that breach its standards could face cancelled ads, financial penalties and account termination.
TTP highlighted an Android app called BAfter that offered an automated undressing feature and displayed pornographic face swaps created by users. Several Google Play reviews alleged that users had generated sexual images of children, though TTP did not independently verify the claims.
The app disappeared from Google Play on July 21. Meta told Bloomberg it had banned BAfter and blocked links to several other nudify apps. Google did not respond to requests for comment.
Some of the Facebook pages used apparently fabricated identities or unrelated business descriptions, which could also breach Meta’s rules against inauthentic behaviour.
GatherOne said it complied with Meta’s advertising policies and maintained zero tolerance for adult content, non-consensual explicit material, child exploitation and fraud.
The agency said it had stopped accepting new advertising-account applications for nudify and face-swap services and was carrying out a compliance upgrade in response to advances in synthetic media. It also permanently ended advertising access for the entity associated with BAfter.
GatherOne describes itself as a top-tier Meta advertising agent in China. It received four performance awards at a Meta agency summit in Hong Kong in January, according to its website.
TTP said removing individual advertisements had not dismantled the wider network, raising questions about whether Meta consistently enforces its rules against a major advertising partner.
