Media regulator Coimisiún na Meán is not expected to move unilaterally to ban or block the AI app Grok in Ireland and will instead await further engagement with the European Commission before determining its next steps, reports RTE.
Officials from An Coimisiún set out this position at an internal Government meeting, indicating that while blocking the app is technically feasible, it may not be practical to implement, reports RTE.
The hour-long meeting, held at Government Buildings, was attended by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan, Minister for Media Patrick O’Donovan, Minister of State with responsibility for AI Niamh Smyth, Independent Minister of State Sean Canney, and Tánaiste Simon Harris, who joined by phone from Brussels.
It was convened following widespread public concern about the use of so-called “nudification” apps to manipulate images of adults and children online without consent, including the creation of large volumes of sexual images, reports RTE.
At the Oireachtas Committee on Media last week, garda representatives confirmed that more than 200 cases involving child images are under investigation, while Grok is reported to have produced tens of thousands of altered images of adults and children at users’ requests.
When asked by Minister Smyth whether Grok could be blocked in Ireland, An Coimisiún’s Digital Services Commissioner John Evans and Online Safety Commissioner Niamh Hodnett are understood to have said it is technically possible to do so, reports RTE.
However, they are also understood to have told the meeting that blocking the app could be impractical for several reasons, including its use for other functions, and that An Coimisiún would await further discussions with the European Commission before taking action.
This approach is understood to have been criticised during the meeting by Minister Smyth, partly because an anticipated decision by the European Commission to open an investigation into Grok this week is now likely to be delayed due to the separate crisis over Greenland-related tariffs, reports RTE.
During the meeting, Ireland’s Attorney General Rossa Fanning is also understood to have said that while sharing altered images is illegal and generating images of children is also illegal, it is not currently against the law for an adult to alter an image of another adult without consent.
He said that although there are serious concerns about the issue, making such actions illegal could be impractical due to potential difficulties around gathering evidence, monitoring behaviour and proving intent, reports RTE.
The meeting later played down suggestions that Ireland might adopt a similar approach to the UK by seeking to criminalise the practice.
Mr Fanning also told the meeting that Ireland currently has three pieces of legislation relevant to online images and abuse, reports RTE.
He said these include the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act, commonly referred to as Coco’s Law, which criminalises the non-consensual sharing of intimate images; child trafficking legislation; and online safety laws.
In response, a Government spokesperson said Ireland plans to use its EU presidency in the second half of this year to broaden the list of prohibited practices under EU AI legislation to include the creation of non-consensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material, as previously recommended by Ireland’s AI advisory council, reports RTE.
It is also expected that Minister O’Donovan will bring a memorandum on the issue to Cabinet in the coming weeks, reports RTE.
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