HONG KONG / MENLO PARK, June 12, 2025— Meta Platforms has filed a lawsuit against Hong Kong-based Joy Timeline HK Limited, accusing the company of using Facebook and Instagram ads to promote AI apps that generate sexually explicit images despite repeated violations of Meta’s advertising rules.

The lawsuit, announced Thursday, zeroes in on a controversial suite of applications under the CrushAI brand. Among them is an AI-powered tool that lets users upload images of real people and then alters those photos to create fake, sexually explicit content. Meta alleges that the company not only violated its ad policies but also intentionally evaded detection systems after being flagged and removed.

Filed in Hong Kong, where Joy Timeline is based, the legal action signals Meta’s growing concern over the rise of generative AI tools being used in harmful and invasive ways especially when amplified by paid promotion on major social media platforms.

Repeated Violations Trigger Legal Action

Meta said it had already removed previous advertisements from Joy Timeline’s apps, but the company allegedly persisted in circumventing Meta’s automated and manual ad review systems to push the product to unsuspecting users.

“These ads may not display nudity directly but are still promoting a service that violates Meta’s rules,” the company said in a statement accompanying the lawsuit announcement. The implication is that the marketing tactics for apps like CrushAI have become increasingly sophisticated, making it harder for existing systems to flag them before damage is done.

To address this, Meta says it is revamping its detection technology to better catch ads that, while not overtly explicit in imagery, still promote services that are fundamentally in violation of platform guidelines.

Political Pressure Mounts

Meta’s legal response also comes amid rising political scrutiny. Earlier this year, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois sent a letter to Meta demanding answers on how it safeguards users from predatory AI services. The letter followed a report from 404 Media, which found that an estimated 90% of traffic to CrushAI’s apps originated from Meta’s own ad networks.

The 404 Media investigation not only highlighted the alarming nature of the apps themselves but also raised red flags about Meta’s capacity to monitor and regulate paid content on its platforms.

Durbin’s letter pushed Meta to explain the extent of its ad oversight and what steps it was taking to protect users, especially women and minors from being exploited by AI tools marketed through its own infrastructure.

The Rise of AI Exploitation Apps

The lawsuit underscores the emerging ethical and legal dilemmas surrounding AI-generated content. Apps like CrushAI fall into a growing category of so-called “nudify” tools applications that take ordinary photographs and digitally manipulate them to produce explicit images without the consent of the people depicted.

Critics say these apps are a modern form of digital sexual harassment, and their widespread availability, especially through platforms like Facebook and Instagram, raises profound concerns about consent, privacy, and the limits of AI innovation.

While Meta has been under fire in recent years for everything from misinformation to privacy lapses, this latest legal battle represents one of the first high-profile efforts to push back against the abuse of generative AI technologies within its own ecosystem.

Meta’s Broader Fight Against AI Misuse

The lawsuit against Joy Timeline is part of what Meta describes as a broader crackdown on deceptive and harmful AI applications, particularly those that slip through conventional moderation tools.

“Promoting or facilitating non-consensual intimate imagery violates not only our community standards but fundamental human rights,” the company stated. “We are committed to holding those responsible accountable.”

The legal outcome in Hong Kong could set an important precedent both for how platforms like Meta enforce their policies and for how international law responds to AI-driven forms of image abuse. For now, Meta is signalling that it won’t tolerate attempts to exploit its reach for apps that cross ethical and legal lines.

As generative AI continues to evolve, the tension between innovation and accountability is likely to deepen and platforms like Meta are being forced to define where those boundaries lie.