Finji accuses TikTok of unauthorized AI-generated racist ads
Finji accused TikTok of using generative AI to alter ads for its games without authorization, creating racist and sexualized imagery of a Black female character despite the publisher disabling AI features. TikTok initially denied the allegations, then acknowledged the unauthorized modifications but did not address the concerning content or provide a satisfactory resolution.
What happened
Finji, publisher of games including Night in the Woods and Tunic, discovered AI-generated ads on TikTok that appeared to come directly from the company without its permission or knowledge. The ads were created by TikTok's generative AI despite Finji having disabled all optional AI features in its ad settings.
One ad depicted the protagonist of Finji's game Usual June with altered imagery showing "a bikini bottom, impossibly large hips and thighs, and boots that rise up over her knees." The character is a Black woman in the game, and Finji characterized the alterations as racist and sexualized stereotypes.
Reported impact
Finji CEO Rebekah Saltsman stated the incident damaged her company's reputation built over a decade and expressed frustration that the company had no option to view or edit the AI-generated ads before they were published. She told IGN: "This is my work, my team's work and mine and my company's reputation—which I have spent over a decade building. My expectation was a proper apology, systemic change."
Index analysis
TikTok initially denied evidence of AI-generated assets, claiming no AI alterations were present despite Finji providing screenshots of the modified character image. After escalation, TikTok acknowledged the unauthorized modifications and stated it was "no longer disputing" that the alterations occurred.
TikTok attributed the ads to a "catalog ads format designed to demonstrate the performance benefits" and stated that an opt-out for this format was not guaranteed, without addressing Finji's concerns about the racist and sexualized content.
Governance controls
Finji had disabled both TikTok's "Smart Creative" and "Automate Creative" AI options in its ad settings, which the company confirmed had been turned off. Despite these settings, TikTok's system generated and published the unauthorized AI-modified ads.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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