Opposition parties have urged the Government to consider banning the social media platform X’s Grok AI system in Ireland, amid concerns that it has been used to create non-consensual images of women, children and men.
The Green Party, Labour and the Social Democrats have separately raised serious alarm over the issue, calling for State bodies to reconsider their use of the platform and for Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan to clarify whether the images constitute a “criminal act”, reports RTE.
Since last month, new image-editing features within Grok have enabled users to generate sexually explicit images of individuals, including children.
Last week, X restricted access to its image creation and editing tools to paid subscribers only, reports RTE.
These changes sparked widespread criticism from politicians, regulators and advocacy groups.
Speaking to journalists at Leinster House, Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman said the growing controversy surrounding Grok’s use meant there needed to be a discussion about whether the AI system should continue to operate in Ireland, reports RTE.
He said he had personally decided to delete his X account, which had 21,000 followers, in response to the situation.
Mr O’Gorman said that while society has “become a bit numbed” to such developments, the reality is that these are “child sexual images” and that Minister O’Callaghan must clarify whether they amount to a crime, reports RTE.
His concerns were echoed by Labour Senator Laura Harmon, who said what is happening is “wrong on so many levels” and added that “we’re talking about child abuse imagery here”, reports RTE.
Senator Harmon said Labour is now considering whether to remain on X and criticised comments made last week by Minister for Media Patrick O’Donovan that use of Grok is a matter for individuals, saying “I think there needs to be clarity on this”.
Her party colleague, Labour TD Duncan Smith, said a decision is needed on whether State bodies and individuals should continue using X, asking “where’s your line”, reports RTE.
Social Democrats deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan said the Government needs to rely on existing legislation to tackle the creation of non-consensual images.
Meanwhile, a Government minister said that if a business producing images like those generated by Grok were “set up in someone’s basement” it would likely be raided by gardaí “the next day”, reports RTE.
Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless said the chatbot presents particular difficulties because it acts as a “publication tool” rather than the primary creator of content.
“It’s very unexpected how it came about, but I think that we’re not alone in finding this a challenge,” he said, reports RTE.
Speaking to reporters ahead of a Cabinet meeting, Mr Lawless said legislation capable of dealing with “cases that aren’t even envisaged yet” is needed, as technology will continue to evolve.
“I don’t think Ireland is any better or worse than any other country in that regard. I think that the world struggled with this,” he said, reports RTE.
“As legislators, we need to get on top of this very quickly,” he added, reports RTE.
Mr Lawless also said the EU Artificial Intelligence Act would provide an “opportunity” to better regulate the sector.
Separately, the UK government announced it would bring forward legislation to criminalise the creation of non-consensual intimate images and the supply of tools designed to generate them, reports RTE.
The chair of Digital Rights Ireland welcomed the move as positive but said X should be investigated for potential criminal liability in enabling nudification.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, TJ McIntyre said the issue must be viewed “in the wider geopolitical context”, reports RTE.
“The reality is that the UK authorities are still largely afraid of taking decisive action against X, and I have to suspect that the Irish authorities are likewise,” he said.
“Because, as things stand under Irish law, we could investigate X, the gardaí could investigate X for criminal complicity in the creation of child abuse images, the possession and distribution of child abuse images and the creation and distribution of intimate images, so-called revenge porn,” he said, reports RTE.
Mr McIntyre said existing laws need to be enforced.
He added that there are regulatory challenges around online platforms, particularly under the Digital Services Act, which was not designed with this scenario in mind, reports RTE.
Mr McIntyre also said the Government could take stronger action through fines, but added that “we have the power in place to deal with this particular scenario already”.
The EU Commissioner for Tech Sovereignty has warned X to quickly address issues with Grok or face action under the Digital Services Act, reports RTE.
In a post on X, Henna Virkkunen said the European Commission had begun investigative steps into the creation and sharing of images depicting undressed women and children.
Media regulator Coimisiún na Meán said it is engaging with the European Commission regarding the concerns, reports RTE.
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