Media regulator 'very concerned' about AI-generated child sex abuse material online
Ireland's media regulator has told companies behind artificial intelligence (AI) platforms like ChatGPT that it is 'very concerned' about the risk of AI-generated child sex abuse material being created and shared online.
Coimisiún na Meán has also said it is seeing 'pushback' from big tech firms it regulates and that its supervision of such companies is 'already bubbling up issues' it may need to escalate to full-scale investigations in future.
Under its powers, the regulator is responsible for big platforms with EU headquarters in Ireland such as X and Meta. For breaches of the law, it can levy fines of up to 6% of a company's turnover or €20m, whichever is greater.
Digital Services Commissioner John Evans said that while fines are in its remit, 'changing behaviours' is what makes a good regulator. The comments came as Coimisiún na Meán launched its three-year strategy and work programme for the year.
The strategy set out six 'key outcomes' where it wants to make progress through to 2027, including upholding the rights and wellbeing of children online, supporting democracy and building trust in the media landscape.
Executive chair Jeremy Godfrey said some of its goals are 'very aspirational' and they don't expect to achieve them all in the three-year period.
Mr Godfrey denied being 'thrown under a bus' by media minister Patrick O'Donovan regarding a proposed 'Netflix levy' on streamers which would've seen the proceeds fund independent productions in Ireland.
The plans, backed by previous minister Catherine Martin, came on foot of a feasibility study carried out by Coimisiún na Meán into the measure but were subsequently ruled out by Mr Donovan who said consumers were 'paying enough'.
Mr Godfrey said it was a policy matter and in the power of the minister to press ahead with proposals or not.
'I think what the minister wants to do is bring some clarity to the situation, so schemes need to be approved by the minister of the current legislation,' he said. 'I think that's fine, as far as we're concerned, but there's no question of being thrown under the bus.'
Online Safety Commissioner Niamh Hodnett said, among other actions it aims to take this year, one will be around a pilot programme to support children at imminent risk of harm from online content.
She said the regulator had concerns around child sex abuse images online and was aiming to take action around this, including images made using artificial intelligence.
'We're very concerned about that,' she said. 'In terms of our close supervision of [online] platforms, that's an area that we engage with them regularly on.
We have the full arsenal of tools within our playbook to be able to deal with that.
'We did meet with Open AI – ChatGpt – recently. We discussed concerns in general in relation to online safety, including AI-generated CSAM (child sexual abuse material), and we would meet with all the platforms in this regard to highlight our concerns.'
While the regulator is only two years old, the landscape it is tasked with overseeing has changed considerably since then with Elon Musk's approach on X and Meta's dismantling of fact-checkers in the US.
'There's never a dull moment,' Mr Godfrey added.
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