Midlands North-West MEP calls for action on explicit AI images on X

Midlands North-West MEP Nina Carberry has called on the European Commission to take decisive action against X over concerns that its AI tool has been used to generate sexually explicit images, including of children.

The Fine Gael MEP said online platforms should face consequences similar to those imposed in other areas of public safety when they fail to prevent the spread of abusive material.

“If someone is caught drunk driving, they are disqualified. We should treat online platforms the same way when they fail to remove child sexual abuse material,” she said.

X has recently restricted the use of Grok’s image generation feature to paid users only. However, Carberry said this does not go far enough and warned that the platform may be in breach of European law.

She said Grok has been able to “undress pictures of women and children and sexualise their images without consent,” adding that this represents a clear breach of the EU’s Digital Services Act. Carberry is calling for the temporary suspension of the Grok tool on X until the issue is fully investigated and addressed.

“What I’m calling for is a temporary suspension of the Grok tool on X. X needs to fix the problem and if they don’t, they should be banned,” she said.

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Carberry wants the European Commission to activate Article 70 of the Digital Services Act, which allows for temporary suspension in serious cases.

She has questioned why the Commission has not yet taken action and confirmed that she has written to seek answers and requested a meeting with Coimisiún na Meán. She said delays in previous cases had resulted in penalties that she regarded as insufficient.

“I think it’s unacceptable. We have a law there. We should be using it. Article 70 should be used to suspend the AI Grok until we see the full evidence of what’s happening,” she said.

Carberry also said that if the European Commission does not act quickly enough, national measures should be considered. She said the Irish Government should use every available lever to put pressure on the Commission and ensure that the rules are enforced.

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The call echoes last week’s declaration by Fine Gael TD for Mayo Keira Keogh, who described reports that an AI chatbot on X accepted prompts to digitally remove clothing from images as “hugely disturbing”.

Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Children and Equality, Deputy Keogh said the alleged failure to block or flag such requests highlighted serious gaps in online safeguards.

“It is illegal in Ireland to share child pornography and non-consensual intimate images, and there is an expectation that social media companies will comply and take the necessary actions,” she said.

Deputy Keogh has called for stronger penalties for platforms that allow harmful content, along with tighter regulation and improved age verification measures.

She also referenced Fine Gael’s recent Online Safety Report, which found that the vast majority of parents do not trust social media companies to act in children’s best interests or have confidence in enforcement.