Belfast City Council set to suspend X use over AI deepfake concerns

Belfast City Council looks set to suspend its use of social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, following recent concerns over its AI tool Grok.

The council’s strategic and resources committee on Friday decided it should “suspend posting on its account and signpost followers towards the council’s other social media channels”. The decision is subject to ratification at the next full council meeting on 2 February.

Some Northern Ireland Executive departments have said they are keeping “under review” their subscriptions to X.

The platform is being investigated by the UK regulator Ofcom after widespread concern Grok was being used to create sexualised deepfake images.

X later announced “technological measures” to prevent Grok from editing photos of real people to show them in revealing clothing in jurisdictions where it is illegal.

Of the nine Stormont departments, seven told BBC News NI they held subscriptions to X. They said their subscriptions cost overall more than £1,300 a year and offer enhanced features and security measures.

Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald said the use of Grok to create non-consensual explicit images was “deeply concerning”.

“We will continue to monitor this situation and keep the use of all social media platforms under review,” she said in a statement.

A subscription to X is held by her department, which it said provides additional benefits including “two-step authentication” for security purposes, and account analytics.

Stormont’s health, education and infrastructure departments, which also hold X subscriptions, said their use of all social media channels would be kept “under review”.

The Department for Communities confirmed it remained subscribed to X and said there were “no plans” to stop using the platform.

The justice and agriculture departments said they did not have X subscriptions.

In separate statements they said their ministers expressed concern over the reports about Grok, adding that the departments’ use of social media would remain “under review”.

The Executive Office and Department of Finance, which have previously said they held subscriptions to X, were also approached for comment.

Green Party leader on Belfast City Council, Brian Smyth, said that the proposal to suspend the council’s use of X had been proposed by himself and Social, Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) councillor Séamas de Faoite on Friday morning over concerns about Grok in relation to sexualised AI deepfakes.

He said “councils have a statutory duty under safeguarding and I think that we have a duty to act”.

“The council will suspend its use, it will not deactivate its account, because there would be a risk if the council deactivated its account,” Smyth told BBC Radio Ulster’s Evening Extra programme.

“The handle could be stolen and used by someone else to impersonate Belfast City Council.

“So it will have to go to full council approval in early February, but essentially Belfast City Council will be suspending its use on Twitter (now known as X) until reports come back from various government departments across the UK regarding what is happening.”

He said the vote carried by 15 votes to four and “that the only party that voted against it were the DUP”.

The DUP confirmed that its councillors on the strategic policy and resources committee, opposed the move.

The party said it did so because “it reduces opportunities for the council to engage with residents” and “they are taking action on one platform when there is a much wider issue across all AI and social media platforms”.

The development at Belfast City Council was welcomed by SDLP assembly member Cara Hunter, who who quit X earlier this month over concerns about Grok.

Hunter, who was targeted with a deepfake video four years ago, described the council proposal as a “fantastic step forward”.

Earlier this month, X announced changes to its AI tool Grok.

“We have implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing,” read an announcement on X.

It said only paid users would be able to edit images using Grok on its platform.

“We now geoblock the ability of all users to generate images of real people in bikinis, underwear, and similar attire via the Grok account and in Grok in X in those jurisdictions where it’s illegal,” X said in its statement.