2026-01-27

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2020 to prohibit the creation of non-consensual intimate or harmful imagery; and to increase the timeframe under which summary proceedings for an offence may be instituted. I welcome Margaret Loftus to the House. On behalf of Deputy Máire Devine and myself, I am pleased to introduce this Bill. Unfortunately, Deputy Devine, who is Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on equality, domestic and gender-based violence, cannot be here today but she has been incredibly vocal on this issue. I commend her on her work with me on this legislation. The Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 is also known as Coco’s Law. It legislates against the recording, distribution and publication of intimate images. The Act created a criminal offence under which perpetrators can be prosecuted for intimate image sharing and grossly offensive communications offences. A review of the Act carried out in 2024 showed there had been 100 cases prosecuted by the Director of Public Prosecutions between 2021 and 2023. The review also found there had been 1,500 victim reports made in the same time. There is clearly a significant gap between the reports made to the hotline and, ultimately, to prosecutions. Unquestionably, having the law in place acts as a deterrent against the sharing, recording, distribution and publication of intimate images. However, there is a lack of certainty regarding whether the 2020 Act covers the generation or creation of intimate images. It is not clear in stating that the generation, for example, of a deepfake sexual image of an adult is illegal. There was some discussion in previous legislative debates of deepfakes and the legislation makes reference to an image which purports to be images of intimate body parts, but the law must keep up with technological developments. The failure to give certainty in law that the creation of such imagery is outlawed is a flaw and it has to be fixed without delay. Over recent weeks, we have seen that this real gap in the law has been exploited by companies such as X and its AI tool, Grok. There has been widespread revulsion at the fact that platforms have allowed the nudification of images, primarily of women and children. X's nudification tool meant that users were able to upload photos or videos of real people and then Grok could remove their clothing, generating and posting these files to the platform for its estimated 650 million monthly active users to view and save. Some 99% of the sexualised AI images and videos produced targeted women and children. Experts at the Sexual Exploitation Research and Policy Institute estimate that 6,700 sexually abusive images, including of children, were being produced every hour. The Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau is conducting an ongoing investigation into 200 child sexual abuse images generated by Grok. Those impacted did not give consent for this but fake depictions of them in degrading or humiliating scenarios were created and published through Grok and released publicly. There is a sense that many of these platforms believe they are above the law. X initially did not disable Grok's nudification tool. Instead, it placed it behind a paywall, cynically monetising this horrific functionality. Coimisiún na Meán has a job to do when it comes to regulating social media companies operating in this State and ensuring they abide by the law. Laws in relation to AI must be robust to protect the public. Ireland’s AI Advisory Council has recommended a specific offence for creating deepfakes without consent in addition to further stand-alone legislation. This Bill seeks to amend Coco's Law to criminalise the generation of non-consensual intimate images and videos and increase the maximum penalties on conviction. While there are many priorities in the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration and lots of legislation is indicated for priority, I believe there needs to be urgency with regard to this particular Bill. It is a straightforward change. It adds the creation and generation of images to the crimes of distributing and sharing those images. I hope all TDs will support the Bill's quick passage through the Dáil. I commend it to the House.

Is the Bill being opposed?

No.

Since this is a Private Members' Bill, Second Stage must, under Standing Orders, be taken in Private Members' time.

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."