Ahead of a meeting with X today, Minister Niamh Smyth said she is confident that Ireland has adequate legislation in place to tackle the sharing of non-consensual sexualised images.
Ahead of her meeting with representatives from X today in Dublin, Minister with special responsibility for Trade Promotion, AI and Digital Transformation Niamh Smyth, TD said she is confident that Ireland has adequate legislation in place to tackle the proliferation of non-consensual images that have flooded X in recent weeks thanks to Elon Musk’s Grok AI.
Yesterday xAI released a statement saying it would geoblock the ‘nudification’ ability in Grok accounts and in Grok in X “in those jurisdictions where it’s illegal”, sparking much uncertainty as to why the latter clause.
“This afternoon I met with the attorney general to seek clarity on what constitutes illegal content under Irish and EU law and following this meeting I am confident that we have robust and effective legislation in place,” she said last night (15 January).
She pointed to the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998, which says that “material depicting a person as a child engaged in real or simulated explicit activity, or focused for sexual purpose on genital areas, is illegal”.
“Coco’s Law criminalises sharing non-consensual intimate images with intent to cause harm,” she added. “The sharing of nonconsensual intimate images and any child sexual abuse material is illegal.”
Following a meeting with Coimisiún na Meán on Wednesday (14 January), to address the wide concerns about AI-generated harmful content on X, including non-consensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material, Smyth had urged swift, coordinated action with the EU Commission, “including a formal investigation and interim measures to protect citizens across all 27 member states”.
“The protection of the most vulnerable cannot wait,” she said. “The EU Commission have taken investigative steps in relation to X and its obligations under the DSA, and will now also carefully assess the changes to Grok that X has announced, to ensure they effectively protect citizens in the EU.
“If anyone is concerned about images shared online, they should report it to An Garda Síochána,” Smyth said who reiterated she will be looking for clarity on yesterday’s statement when she meets with X representatives today.
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