Call made in Waterford for full support of Coco's Law amendment

Sinn Féin TDs for Waterford, Deputies David Cullinane and Conor D McGuinness, have called on Government TDs, Mary Butler and John Cummins, to back Sinn Féin’s amendment to Coco’s Law to demonstrate true commitment to zero tolerance for violence against women and children.

The Deputies were speaking ahead of the Bill, brought forward by party spokesperson on Justice, Deputy Matt Carthy, and spokesperson on Equality, Domestic, and Gender Violence, Deputy Máire Devine, being debated in the Dáil on Tuesday, February 10.

“Sinn Féin’s amendment to Coco’s Law would clarify that the creation of sexualised AI deepfakes is illegal by criminalising the generation and creation of nonconsensual intimate images and videos," they said.

“It would also extend the statute of limitations from two to five years, which would allow victims plenty of time to come forward, and also give An Garda Síochána enough time to forensically, technically examine personal electronic devices and servers in order to build a strong case," they added.

The two Waterford TDs also said the amendment would also lead to an increase in the maximum penalties upon conviction, to properly reflect the heinousness of such crimes.

“Creating child sexual abuse material using artificial intelligence is abhorrent," they said.

"Cyberbullying and harassing women in an effort to silence them, to influence others’ opinions of them and shatter their self-esteem, is reprehensible," they added.

"People are doing these things in Ireland using generative AI tools available now."

The Sinn Féin Deputies said many Government TDs and ministers had spoken out in the past few weeks about the need to ensure criminalisation of the generation of sexualised AI deepfakes. 

"We therefore hope that this will translate into cross-party support tonight to pass Sinn Féin’s bill through to committee stages," they said.

“Passing Sinn Féin’s, amendment to Coco’s Law would demonstrate a true commitment to zero tolerance for violence against women and children in Ireland," they added.