Barry Ward’s Letter about Grok/AI


TD Barry Ward, who is also a barrister, has written a letter laying out very clearly why X/Grok could and should be prosecuted immediately under existing Irish law. I’m sharing it in full as it is the public interest. I’ll add my own opinion that the X premises should be raided as soon as possible before evidence can be destroyed.

The letter follows

–o–

To:
Detective Superintendent Pat Ryan
Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau

Dear Superintendent,

You will no doubt be aware of the social media company X and its Grok app, which utilises artificial intelligence to generate pictures and videos. I understand you are also aware that, among its capabilities is the generation, by artificial intelligence, of false images of real people either naked or in bikinis, etc. There has been a great deal of controversy recently about the use of this technology and its ability to target people without their knowledge or consent.

Whatever about the sharing of such images being contrary to the provisions of Coco’s Law (sections 2 and 3 of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020), the Grok app is also capable of generating child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or child pornography as defined by section 2(1) of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998 (as substituted by section 9(b) of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017).

In the circumstances, it seems there are reasonable grounds that the corporate entity X, as owner of Grok, or indeed the corporate entity Grok itself, is acting in contravention of a number of provisions of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998 (as amended). Inter alia, it is my contention that the following offences are being committed by X, Grok, and/or its subsidiaries:

1.⁠ ⁠Possession of child pornography contrary to section 6(1) in that the material generated by the Grok app must be stored on servers owned and/or operated by X and with the company’s knowledge, in this jurisdiction or in the European Union [subsections 6(3) and (4) would not apply in this case];

2.⁠ ⁠Production of child pornography contrary to section 5(1)(a) as substituted by section 12 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017, in that material is being generated by the Grok app, which constitutes child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or child pornography as defined by section 2(1), since it constitutes a visual representation that shows person who is depicted as being a child “being engaged in real or simulated sexually explicit activity” (per paragraph (a)(i) of the definition of child pornography in section 2(1) as amended by section 9(b) of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017);

3.⁠ ⁠Distribution of chiid pornography contrary to section 5(1)(b) as substituted by section 12 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017, in that the said images that constitute child pornography are being distributed, transmitted, disseminated or published to the users of the Grok app by X or its subsidiaries;

4.⁠ ⁠Distribution of chiid pornography contrary to section 5(1)(c) as substituted by section 12 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017, in that the Child pornography is being sold to the users of the Grok app by X or its subsidiaries, now that the app has been very publically put behind a pay wall;

5.⁠ ⁠Knowing possession any child pornography for the purpose of distributing, transmitting, disseminating, publishing, exporting, selling or showing same, contrary to section 5(1)(g) as substituted by section 12 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017.

You will also be aware that, pursuant to section 9(1) of the 1998 Act, a body corporate is equally liable to be proceeded against and punished as if it were an individual.

Given the foregoing, as well as the public outcry against public decency, it is clear to me that X is flagrantly disregarding the laws of this country put in place by the Oireachtas to protect its citizens.

I am formally lodging this criminal complaint in the anticipation that you will investigate it fully and transmit a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions without delay; I would be grateful to hear from you in this regard.

Yours sincerely,

Barry Ward TD
Senior Counsel

#BarryWard #Garda #Grok #Twitter #X

Below, Robert Kagen, says (to Carole Cadwalladr) something that confirms what many of us have been saying:

'it's just a faulty analysis to think that if you can flatter Trump enough & call him daddy, that means he'll leave you alone. As we see, he's not leaving anybody alone. It's really just – in fact, with him, it's an invitation to come back & demand something else & push you around. So you can't buy anything in that way'!

Keir needs to listen!

#politics #trump

thenerve.news/p/robert-kagan-c…

in reply to Emeritus Prof Christopher May

Mary Trump, Donald's own niece, warned everyone back in 2020.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Too_Much…

Knowing that, armed with what Anu Bradford broke down for everyone in Digital Empires back in 2023, people still handed him the keys!

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Doesn't anyone read anymore?

#books #libraries

in reply to CM Thiede

@cmthiede whole documentaries were made on the subject, then the trump organization threatened the filmmaker to suppress its release.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump:_W…

I mean if you just grew up in the 1980s, you already knew how bad trump was, without any deep dives into his history. He is open about it. this doc really demonstrates trump's mafia-style management, and how he uses underlings to buffer himself from criminality, throwing them under the bus.

Vijay Prashad: Hyper-Imperialism on Hyper-Drive consortiumnews.com/2026/01/20/…

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If the strike called for January 23 in protest against ICE is to succeed, ordinary people—most of whom are not unionized—will have to walk out and take it upon themselves to disrupt business as usual.

No union leadership or organization can do this for us.

crimethinc.com/TwoGeneralStrik…

🏴

Arches National Park today. Learn more at nps.gov/arch/index.htm and nps.gov/arch/learn/nature/geol… and nps.gov/articles/desertvarnish… Image credit National Park Service. For more information #nps #nationalparks #interpretation #photography #arches #publiclands #landscapephotography #utah #preservation #utwx #newtopographics #geology #travel #moab #sedimentaryrocks #sandstone

Blimey.

The former head of Norway’s armed forces has come out and called the US a “neo-fascist banana republic” and a “hostile great power without norms”.

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#Politics

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Είναι όλοι τους απίστευτα ανίκανοι χέστες.

Κλειστά αύριο τα σχολεία και σε Μέτσοβο, Κεντρικά Τζουμέρκα και Δήμο Καραϊσκάκη Άρτας.

Επιπλέον υποχρεωτικά αντιολισθητικές αλυσίδες σε ΟΛΟ τον νομό Άρτας ακόμη και στην Κορωνησία που είναι μέσα στη θάλασσα.

in reply to YoungBlood

—Well, as we who watch Beard Blather on a weekly basis understand, this is the fault of the nearly 70% of California residents who vote Democrat no matter what.

These people have allowed themselves to be defrauded by the likes of Newsom, Karen Bass (in LA), and other political malcontents who have no trouble whatsoever with destroying that once beautiful state, and economic powerhouse.

Israel’s Plan to Build Settlements on Demolished UNRWA Site Signals Disregard for UN, International Law #Palestine english.pnn.ps/news/48034

20 January 1877 | A Hungarian Jewish woman, Hermine Schlezinger, was born in Lovas. She was a restaurant owner. During the war she lived in Paris.

In 1943 she was deported to #Auschwitz and murdered in the gas chamber after selection.
---

▶ Watch our webinar about deportations of Jews from Hungary to Auschwitz: youtu.be/M42znxofU5Q


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Σοβαρά ερωτήματα για τη στάση της ελληνικής κυβέρνησης απέναντι στους ελαιοπαραγωγούς της Κρήτης εγείρει η απάντηση του Επιτρόπου Γεωργίας Christophe Hansen σε ερώτηση του ευρωβουλευτή του ΠΑΣΟΚ – Κίνημα Αλλαγής Σάκης Αρναούτογλου.

Όπως προκύπτει ξεκάθαρα, υπήρχαν διαθέσιμα ευρωπαϊκά εργαλεία και χρηματοδοτικά μέσα για στήριξη της κρητικής ελαιοπαραγωγής, ωστόσο η Ελλάδα δεν υπέβαλε ποτέ σχετικό αίτημα.

in reply to Fou

Η απάντηση του Επιτρόπου έρχεται σε μια περίοδο κατά την οποία η ελαιοπαραγωγή στην Κρήτη και ειδικότερα στο Λασίθι έχει καταρρεύσει έως και 90%, λόγω παρατεταμένης λειψυδρίας, υψηλών θερμοκρασιών και επαναλαμβανόμενων προσβολών από τον δάκο της ελιάς. Παρά τη σοβαρότητα της κατάστασης και τις εκκλήσεις των παραγωγών, η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή δηλώνει ρητά ότι δεν έχει λάβει κανένα αίτημα ενεργοποίησης έκτακτης στήριξης από τις ελληνικές αρχές.
in reply to Fou

Σύμφωνα με τον κ. Hansen, το άρθρο 219 του κανονισμού (ΕΕ) 1308/2013 προβλέπει τη δυνατότητα έκτακτης παρέμβασης σε περιπτώσεις σοβαρών διαταραχών της αγοράς, κατόπιν αιτήματος του κράτους μέλους. Ωστόσο, όπως σημειώνει, μέχρι σήμερα δεν έχει κατατεθεί κανένα τέτοιο αίτημα για τη στήριξη των ελαιοπαραγωγών της Κρήτης.

#ΝΔΚαθάρματα #ΜητσοτάκηΚάθαρμα

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