Grok scandal: Ireland to use EU presidency to address AI image abuse in European law

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris meet ministers to discuss laws relating to the generation and sharing of sexual abuse images

The Grok AI tool on the social media platform X allows users to create non-consensual 'nudified' images from photos of real people, including children. Picture: Yui Mok/PA

Ireland will use its presidency of the EU later this year to include the AI generation of non-consensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material in the EU’s AI Act.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris met with a number of ministers to discuss the laws relating to the generation and sharing of sexual abuse images on social media in the wake of the scandal around X’s Grok tool and other AI apps which have been used to create nude photographs of adults and children.

The Grok tool has been used to generate explicit images of women and children through what has been described as a “nudification” function.

Ministers heard from Coimisiún na Meán on its work on these issues to date. It said it remains in regular contact with the European Commission on this work.

Ministers agreed to accept all of the recommendations of the AI Advisory council, which include:

• Using our EU presidency to expand the list of prohibited practices under the AI Act — which is EU law — to include the generation of non-consensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material;
• Supporting victim reporting with simple guidance for the public on reporting prohibited material;
• An information campaign;
• Standardising classification of online harms and creating a common framework to enable effective responses to AI-generated and automated abuse.

Further legal measures are to be considered by the Attorney General and the minister for justice amid fears there are loopholes in the Irish laws governing non-consensual generation of images.

Gaps in Irish law

One source said the key motive behind the meeting was to ensure a similar situation around the generation of child sexual abuse material and non-consensual explicit images “does not happen again”.

They added that, at present, there are no laws in place that ban the generation of non-consensual explicit images, and it only breaks the law once it is shared.

The source said this was something the Government would need to “look at down the road” and address.

The meeting included the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, AI minister of state Niamh Smyth, justice minister Jim O’Callaghan, and communications minister Patrick O’Donovan.

On Monday, chairperson of the Oireachtas arts, media, communications, culture and sport committee Alan Kelly urged ministers to bring forward a clear and definitive plan to address platforms and AI tools.

It is extremely important that all of Government is on the one page about this issue to ensure that Ireland is ready and able to enforce our own laws to protect children and all people against the horrific use of AI tools like Grok as has been seen in recent weeks.

"I have already called on the Government to ensure that app stores like Apple and Google prevent access to Grok, a stop-gap measure but one which can at the very least stem widespread access to their tool.

“We know that Grok is only one of a myriad of these tools available unfortunately and any AI plan produced by Government must be extendable to any AI tool that has done or can produce sexual abuse materials.”