United News of Bangladesh

Belfast City Council is set to suspend its use of social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, amid concerns over the misuse of its AI tool Grok to create sexualised deepfake images. The council’s strategic and resources committee decided on Friday to halt posting on its X account and instead direct followers to other social media platforms. The move will require final approval at a full council meeting scheduled for Feb 2. The decision comes as UK media regulator Ofcom investigates X following widespread concern that Grok was being used to produce non-consensual explicit images. X later said it had introduced technological measures to block such activity in places where it is illegal. Some Northern Ireland Executive departments said they are reviewing their use of X. Seven of the nine Stormont departments confirmed they currently hold paid subscriptions to the platform, costing more than £1,300 a year in total. Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald said the creation of explicit AI-generated images without consent was deeply concerning and confirmed that social media use remains under review across departments. Green Party councillor Brian Smyth said the proposal was made to protect public safety. He said the council would suspend its use rather than deactivate the account to prevent impersonation risks. The proposal was passed by 15 votes to four, with the Democratic Unionist Party voting against it. The DUP said it opposed the move as it would reduce the council’s ability to engage with residents and argued that AI concerns extend beyond a single platform. X earlier announced that Grok would no longer allow editing images of real people into revealing clothing in jurisdictions where such content is illegal and said only paid users would have access to image editing features.   With inputs from BBC