Ex-Human, the developer behind Botify and Photify AI, is suing Apple over what it calls “arbitrary” App Store removals. Here are the details.
Developer seeks injunction against bans
As reported by the San Francisco Business Times (via AppleInsider), “San Francisco AI startup Ex-Human, whose racy chatbots have attracted controversy, is taking on one of the largest companies in the world.”
The case involves the removal of two apps from the App Store, and allegations that Apple is “withholding $500,000 in revenue generated through the apps.”
Botify is an AI companion platform that lets users have conversations with AI chatbots. Last year, it made headlines after the MIT Technology Review published a concerning story regarding the availability of chatbots posing as underage celebrities and characters, which engaged in “sexually charged conversations.”
In one case, a user-created chatbot posing as Jenna Ortega in character as Wednesday Addams reportedly said age-of-consent laws were “meant to be broken.”
Other user-created bots impersonated younger versions of Emma Watson and Millie Bobby Brown at ages 16 and 17, even though the actresses are now 35 and 22.
As for the Photify AI app, it has also generated its share of controversy for allowing users to “generate images of real people wearing revealing outfits without their consent,” according to the San Francisco Business Times.
Back to the lawsuit, Ex-Human alleges that both apps were removed from the App Store due to what Apple referred to as “dishonest or fraudulent activity.” Ex-Human alleges that Apple didn’t provide specific examples of what led to the removal.
“Apple has not identified any particular transactions, user activity or application behavior that formed the basis of its determination,” the complaint states, noting that the company’s apps remain in good standing on the Google Play Store.
Ex-Human argues that in the past, the App Store business development team classified the company as a “high-growth developer,” and says that while Botify had a monthly revenue of about $330,000, Photify AI was raking in roughly $100,000 per month.
The company further claims that Apple removed Photify AI for anticompetitive reasons, arguing the decision coincided with the promotion of its own “Image Playground.”
To read the San Francisco Business Times’ full report, follow this link.
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