Local authority will reduce their use of social media X

South Dublin County Council will reduce their use of social media platform X following concerns over harmful AI generated content on the site.

Dublin City Council announced they will suspend posting on X after an emergency motion from Green Party councillors.

Their motion called on DCC to stop posting on the main council account, as well as subsidiary accounts such as the Dublin Fire Brigade account, due to the use of Grok, the site’s AI chatbot, by users to generate non-consensual sexual imagery and child sexual abuse material.

Cllr Ray Cunningham (GP) said that X was no longer fit for purpose and that there are “alternatives to X that the council can and should use, such as Bluesky and Mastodon or WhatsApp Community groups”.

“The relentless monetisation and degradation of the X platform has made it less useful for communication, as users leave and posts must be promoted to be visible,” he added.

Many other Irish organisations have also left X in the wake of the Grok scandal, including Women’s Aid and Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC).

“Like other frontline organisations who witness the harm first-hand, we cannot disregard the unhindered and escalating abuse, misogyny, racism and hate on this once vibrant platform,” DDRC said in a statement.

In a statement to The Echo, South Dublin County Council said they maintain a presence on X as a tool to communicate with citizens, but that they are “reducing our use and will review on an ongoing basis”.

“We continue to assess the use and value of all our channels, to ensure they align with our core values set out in our Corporate Plan,” they added.

The European Commission announced an investigation into Grok as they believe that X may have breached the Digital Services Act on Monday, January 26.

“We have seen over the last weeks and months antisemitic content, non-consensual deepfakes of women, and child sexual abuse material. In Europe, no company will make money by violating our fundamental rights,” they said.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme