Carlow MEP pushes for stronger EU action on AI harms to young people

IRELAND South MEP Kathleen Funchion has tabled new amendments in the European Parliament aimed at tackling the growing risks posed by unregulated artificial-intelligence (AI) tools and social media platforms, especially for children and young people.

Ms Funchion, speaking as chief negotiator for The Left group on the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, said current AI-powered tools online can be dangerous when used to create harmful content like deepfakes and non-consensual images. She emphasised the need for stricter safeguards, better reporting systems, and tougher accountability for big tech companies that host these tools. The measures are part of an EU report examining how social media affects young people’s safety and wellbeing.

She warned that AI technologies are being misused to make sexually explicit and manipulated images without consent - with women and young people often targeted - and called for stronger enforcement of human rights laws to protect users and more cooperation with law enforcement.

“Social media, when misused, can have a devastating impact on young people,” Ms Funchion said. “Big tech platforms… must be held to account.” Her amendments also urge gender-sensitive approaches to online safety and better mechanisms to report abuse.

Concerns about harmful AI tools have entered the headlines recently, with international scrutiny focused on an AI chatbot called Grok, developed by Elon Musk’s company, xAI, and embedded into the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

Grok has been used by users to generate non-consensual sexually explicit and manipulated images, including deepfakes of real people and children. That has sparked backlash from regulators and governments around the world.

The UK is investigating Grok under its Online Safety Act and considering possible fines or even a ban on X if it fails to deal with the harmful images. Meanwhile, Europe's independent media watchdog has raised concerns with the European Commission about Grok being used to digitally undress women and children and spread illegal content, urging enforcement of EU laws.

In response to the global outcry, Grok has limited its image-generation and editing features to paying users, but regulators and safety advocates argue this does not address the underlying harm.

In Ireland, politicians including the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence have criticised the platform and are seeking meetings with X’s operators, while rights groups call for stronger laws to ban AI tools that enable “nudification” and other abusive content.