{"id":293310,"date":"2026-02-20T10:52:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T10:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/293310\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T10:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T10:52:09","slug":"more-councils-boycott-x-over-grok-ai-sexual-images-controversy-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/293310\/","title":{"rendered":"More councils boycott X over Grok AI sexual images controversy \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thirteen local authorities have ceased using the social media platform X<\/a>, or are reviewing its use, amid ongoing controversy about the company\u2019s AI tool Grok<\/a> being used to create non-consensual sexual images.<\/p>\n

It comes as the State\u2019s data privacy watchdog, the Data Protection Commission<\/a>, launches an investigation into the social media company giant over the \u201cnudification\u201d of images through X\u2019s AI chatbot.<\/p>\n

The European Commission and various European countries have also launched their own investigations into the controversial tool.<\/p>\n

Last month, Dublin City Council became the first local authority to suspend the use of the X platform<\/a>, formerly known as Twitter, following a Green Party proposal. <\/p>\n

The decision to \u201cpause\u201d posting on X applied to all the council\u2019s subsidiary accounts, including Dublin Fire Brigade.<\/p>\n

The Irish Times asked every local authority for their policy regarding X. Six additional bodies \u2013 Galway City, Kilkenny, Sligo, Donegal, Fingal and D\u00fan Laoghaire-Rathdown Councils \u2013 said they were planning to stop actively using the platform, or already have. <\/p>\n

Some councils are planning to close down their accounts entirely, while some will keep them open to communicate with the public in emergency situations.<\/p>\n

Another six local authorities \u2013 in Monaghan, Longford, Kerry, South Dublin and Cork City and Cork County \u2013 said they were reviewing their policy relating to the platform.<\/p>\n

In total, 13 out of Ireland\u2019s 31 local authorities have ceased using X or are considering abandoning or reducing use of the platform. <\/p>\n

Decisions to leave X have also been taken by the Green Party and various individual politicians. However, most Government Ministers and departments retain a presence on the platform.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile X remains one of the platforms for delivering real-time updates on severe weather events and local authority services, Cork County Council is mindful of recent developments in AI technology associated with X that have raised concerns,\u201d a spokesman for Cork County Council said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs part of our ongoing review, the council\u2019s use of X will be considered within the framework of a broader communications strategy, which is currently being updated.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Grok AI was the final straw for sports bodies fed up with online abuseOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Monaghan County Council said it has reduced its \u201cday\u2011to\u2011day presence on the platform\u201d while its review takes place.<\/p>\n

Sligo County Council said it suspended its use earlier this month. It said its management team has monitored the recent controversy regarding X and \u201cat this present time do not believe the use of these platforms\u201d is compatible with its values.<\/p>\n

Some of the decisions to suspend the use of X followed votes by council members. In other cases, the decision was taken by council management teams.<\/p>\n

Councils cited recent controversies surrounding content on the X platform, including the creation of sexualised images of children.<\/p>\n

However, several also cited low engagements with posts and a decision to focus on more active platforms.<\/p>\n

A spokesman for D\u00fan Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council said it has been reducing its use of X for the last 18 months and that its last post was on January 30th.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision was influenced by a combination of factors, including consistently low engagement, a decline in follower numbers and ongoing controversies affecting the platform. These issues collectively reduced its effectiveness as a communications channel.\u201d <\/p>\n

Cork City Council said \u201cit is very conscious of the broader debate about the role of X in the age of AI-driven platforms like Grok\u201d.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Does Grok believe it can legally generate intimate images of women in Ireland?Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cBut ever before that debate started, Cork City Council had begun to shift away from X as a key channel of communication, focusing instead on platforms that better support rich content and community interaction,\u201d the council said.<\/p>\n

Other councils said they will continue to use the platform, citing their responsibly to communicate important information to the public.<\/p>\n

\u201cOften, to be most effective, this information is required in real time, eg during a storm, road closures, or road gritting,\u201d said Roscommon County Council.<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s Aid Ireland, Swim Ireland, Paralympics Ireland and the Irish Refugee Council have also left the platform recently.<\/p>\n

Other organisations that stopped recently include An Taisce, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and Green Schools Ireland. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thirteen local authorities have ceased using the social media platform X, or are reviewing its use, amid ongoing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293311,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[365,363,364,162252,136708,7710,111,139,69,145,10376],"class_list":{"0":"post-293310","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-data-protection-commission","12":"tag-dublin-city-council","13":"tag-grok","14":"tag-new-zealand","15":"tag-newzealand","16":"tag-nz","17":"tag-technology","18":"tag-x"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}