Judge in Brazil Apple has now fined Apple and Google for distributing FaceApp in their app stores: an app that appears to have no regard for user privacy.

A few years ago, FaceApp took the internet by storm with strange and slightly creepy AI-powered ways to make you age or change your hair color without actually doing it in real life. You may have manipulated your photos too, mixing photos of different celebrities to see what their potential offspring would look like (yes, this was also a feature).

FaceApp can manipulate faces and allows for extreme photo altering, from changing your skin tone and hair color to adding 20 years or more to your age. But it’s been a public secret for a while now The app blatantly steals user data using a loophole in legal contracts.

The violation of user privacy (despite obtaining user consent, but under false pretenses) made regulators in Brazil upset. Judge Douglas de Mello Martins said Brazilian law prohibits the widespread and inappropriate collection of personal data without consent. In fact, the problem is not with the misleading language used by the application terms… but with the lack of translation of the terms mentioned in Portuguese.

The problem is that Brazilian users cannot provide informed consent to terms of service that they cannot understand in their language. This will likely ensure that this remains in good standing despite potential appeals. To be completely fair, the English version isn’t very clear either, but that’s not the question here.

In fact, regulators hold Apple and Google responsible for running FaceApp. Right now, the two companies could face a fine of about $82 for each person who has downloaded and used FaceApp since June 2020. That could amount to millions of dollars.

As is usual in such situations, appeals are likely to be filed from Google and Apple – it often happens that big tech companies try to mitigate fines by appealing the court’s decision.

The FaceApp fiasco in Brazil isn’t just about one app running fast and losing user data, it shines a huge spotlight on the larger question of whether Apple and Google should be held liable for the sketchy apps they allow to roam freely in their digital playgrounds. .

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about apps doing poorly, but when governments start pointing the finger at App Store managers, things get interesting.

If Apple and Google end up paying multi-million dollar fines, it could open the door to similar cases around the world.