Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 February 2026
7. Deputy Joanna Byrne asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the steps he will take to tackle harmful AI tools (details supplied) and the online platforms that host them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4109/26]
View answer16. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment in light of reports that generative artificial intelligence tools can produce highly realistic child sexual abuse imagery, the specific engagement his Department has had on the online safety and cultural implications of such technologies for children and young people; the concrete actions being taken to ensure child protection and online safety frameworks are adequate to address these risks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4132/26]
View answerI ask the Minister to outline the steps he is taking to tackle harmful AI tools and the social media platforms that host them. I invite him to give a definitive statement this morning on the concrete actions being taken to ensure enhanced protection for online users.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 16 together.
I thank Deputy Byrne for her very important question. This is a very serious issue and the Government has been very clear from the outset that the sharing of non-consensual intimate images and the generation of child sexual abuse material is illegal and that the use of AI to generate illegal material or to cause harm is unacceptable. The Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act, known as Coco's Law, creates a serious offence of distribution or publication of an intimate image without consent with intent to cause harm to the victim. Under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act, the production, possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material, whether offline or online, whether generated by AI or otherwise, is illegal and attracts a sentence of up to 14 years imprisonment.
Under the Digital Services Act, the European Commission is responsible for the oversight of very large online platforms like X which are required to assess and mitigate risks that their services may create in relation to the proliferation of illegal content online and the protection of minors. An urgent cross-Government response was mobilised in response to this issue when it arose in January, including the relevant Ministers and the Attorney General as well as Coimisiún na Meán to ensure a full understanding of the significant legislative and regulatory framework that already exists and provides protections in relation to this issue and how it was being applied.
Coimisiún na Meán is Ireland's digital services co-ordinator under the Digital Services Act and has engaged intensively with the European Commission since the initial reports on this serious issue. Nationally, Coimisiún na Meán has met with the assistant commissioner for organised and serious crime, the heads of the Garda national cyber crime bureau, the Garda national protective services bureau and the online child exploitation unit as well as separately with both Hotline.ie, Ireland’s national reporting centre, and the Data Protection Commission. An Garda Síochána has stated its full commitment to supporting victims and numerous investigations are currently under way to determine if there have been breaches of the law.
On 26 January the European Commission announced the commencement of an investigation into X and the use of Grok to generate and disseminate illegal content under the Digital Services Act. Coimisiún na Meán collaborated closely with the Commission in its preparation and is formally associated with the investigation. The Digital Services Act puts responsibility for facilitating the dissemination of harmful content where it belongs, namely with the online platforms.
The Government also welcomes this week’s announcement by the Data Protection Commission that it has commenced a large-scale inquiry which will examine X’s compliance with some of its fundamental obligations under the GDPR in relation to the matters at hand. It is important now to respect the independence of the relevant national authorities and the European Commission who are responsible for enforcement of the relevant laws and regulations and allow their investigations to be carried out independently and in accordance with procedural safeguards. In addition to these ongoing investigations, the Attorney General and the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration are examining the matter and will consider whether further legislative measures are needed in the area of non-consensual intimate images. Work is also under way in the Department of justice to transpose the EU violence against women directive which provides new protections in this area.
My own Department is liaising with the European Commission and member states to advocate for adding the use of AI systems for the generation of such images to the list of prohibited AI practices under the EU AI Act. Online safety will be a core pillar underpinning the new national digital and AI strategy which was published yesterday and a priority for Ireland’s Presidency of the European Council. These measures reinforce the Government’s commitment to enhancing online safety, in particular for children and young people, as a whole-system priority.
This question was originally submitted to the Minister for communications but was transferred to the Department of enterprise. I am not entirely sure why he did not want to answer it last week.
I note his comments about examinations, reviews and the work under way in various Departments but the fact is inaction by this Government against social media giants cannot continue. Thus far the Government has sat back and waited for anyone that is not it to act even though there are more than enough adequate Irish laws for it to use to step up and face down social media companies when harmful AI tools like Grok are used. The Minister mentioned Coimisiún na Meán extensively in his response. Coimisiún na Meán could use the Online Safety Media Regulation Act today to issue a penalty or fine of €20 million or up to 10% of turnover but it is waiting, like this Government, for the EU to conclude its investigation under the Digital Services Act. Despite everything the Minister has outlined, the Government is refusing to call on Coimisiún na Meán to use the Online Safety Media Regulation Act, so enforcement of the regulations in place is not paramount. While the story rolls on, in the absence of enforcement, people are left exposed, mainly women and children.
I welcome the publication of the Government's AI and digitalisation strategy but the issue relates to harmful products coming onto the market, as Deputy Joanna Byrne outlined. I appreciate we are going to be placing a lot more responsibility on the regulator but some of this has to be about putting responsibility back on the platform before the product or service is released onto the market. We are going to invest in our regulators to be able to deal with this, but the Minister will appreciate that if a new financial service or product is about to be launched onto the market, there are certain reporting obligations to the Central Bank as the regulator. We need to look at a similar situation where social media and AI companies, before they launch a product or service on the market, will have reporting obligations at that stage to the regulator to identify issues early before the product ever comes to market. The difficulty is we have been treating companies that operate in this space very differently from how we treat companies and organisations that operate in similar spaces.
We have been dealing with big tech in a very different way. If we were just relying on good manners and decency, we would not need to have this conversation. It is difficult to see how anybody thought it was an okay idea to produce an application that would allow for the creation of child pornography. That is what we are talking about. I agree with my party colleague Deputy Joanna Byrne that we need to see the operation of the online safety and media regulation legislation here. We need action to be taken from our point of view while pressure obviously needs to be maintained on the European Commission to ensure the DSA is operated. Are we sure the legislative gaps are going to be dealt with in the sense that a tool like this should be absolutely illegal? It is also about taking on those who allow the app to be put up and provide the app stores where it can be downloaded. They cannot be let off the hook in any way.
Irrespective of any entity, large or small, the Government will not be found wanting in protecting our children. I say that as the father of two young children. Our primary concern, irrespective of any company in this State or tax revenue any company will bring in, is our future, which is our children. Four investigations are live in this area, as I referenced, under the DSA by the Commission, Coimisiún na Meán, An Garda Síochána and the DPC. We live in a constitutional democracy. Due process has to happen for investigations. If I say anything here that prejudices an investigation that is ongoing, it would do a disservice to the State and the victims, who have been at the forefront of what we are speaking about. My action in relation to the AI Act has been on trying to ensure we get additional protections in. Critically, from our meetings with the Attorney General and the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, and the work she has done, we know the law is strong in this regard. Investigations are ongoing and action will be swift. I will be very much at the forefront of calling for that, in the context of any company in this State. If it compromises in any way the safety of our children, it should pay the ultimate price. The Government is unequivocal on that. That is why are doing a huge amount of work over the next weeks and months in relation to the protection of our children and online safety, which will be so important, working with our European colleagues to get a co-ordinated response. We have to respect due process. Investigations are under way, which I referenced. That demonstrates action, and I am taking additional action under the AI Act and advocating through a European response.
Those are very strong words and it is great to hear the Government will not be found wanting in this regard, but talk is cheap if it is not backed up by action. I sincerely hope the Minister meant everything he said. The Government has powers. Nobody is asking him to jeopardise any investigation. It is just about enforcement of the powers under the existing mechanisms, to ensure they are enacted with the full rigour they can be in order that we will not have a repeat of the Grok scandal.
I assure the Deputy those powers are under investigation in terms of completing the files. We know that from An Garda Síochána and the DPP. Independence is a core tenet of our democracy and we have to let investigations run their course. I cannot pre-empt action that might happen arising from an investigation because that would jeopardise the whole investigation. Action is very visible from the four authorities I listed that are investigating this, together with the work I am doing with the Ministers of State, Deputies Smyth and Dillon, in relation to the AI Act.
