Govt won't oppose Labour bill to tackle AI abuse imagery
The Government is not opposing a proposal from the Labour Party to strengthen the law around tackling AI-generated sexual abuse imagery.
The Government has declared it will not oppose a Labour Party bill aimed at bolstering legislation to combat AI-generated sexual abuse imagery. Labour's Alan Kelly introduced the bill, which seeks to amend the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act. The proposed legislation would close loopholes in Irish law and enhance legal accountability for online platforms.
Recently, the European Commission initiated an investigation into Grok, an AI tool utilized by the social media platform X, for its dissemination of sexually explicit images, potentially involving child sexual abuse material. Despite the ongoing issue stemming from the Grok/X scandal, the government has yet to implement the necessary changes to safeguard individuals from AI-generated sexual abuse.
Mr. Kelly emphasized that victims of such abuse deserve more than mere expressions of concern; they require a law that addresses the actions of perpetrators and platforms. The bill would explicitly cover sexual abuse images generated or altered using AI, making it illegal to produce such images without consent for publication or distribution.
Furthermore, the bill would criminalize the encouragement or knowing facilitation of the generation of these images. Major tech companies, including X, Meta, TikTok, and Google, must accept responsibility for their actions under the law.
Minister of State at the Department of Justice Colm Brophy stated that the government would not oppose the bill, as its objectives align with the government's commitment to a zero-tolerance stance on domestic sexual and gender-based violence. Brophy confirmed that Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan had received Cabinet approval to not oppose the bill.
If enacted, the bill would hold social media executives criminally liable for harmful content, with fines no longer sufficient deterrents for companies that repeatedly permit harmful material on their platforms. Labour TD Ciarán Ahern stressed the need to address the harmful online culture that allows such behavior to proliferate.
The bill was updated to account for the AI tool Grok's ability to create nudified images, which surfaced nine months ago.
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