Richard Boyd Barrett: Accuses Elon Musk and X of Profiting from Abuse
Richard Boyd Barrett accused Elon Musk and the platform X of profiting from sexualised images of women and child abuse material and called for police investigations and public protests. He also highlighted redundancies at Covalent and urged support for content moderators facing job losses.
Allegations against X and Elon Musk
He said Elon Musk and X were profiting from producing sexualised images of women without their consent and from child abuse material, describing the practice as sick and depraved. He warned that recent announcements forced by public outrage may not stop the monetisation of abuse.
Law enforcement and government response
Boyd Barrett said he had suggested the laws existed and that the guards should be sent into X, while initially the minister blamed users rather than companies. He noted the guards later confirmed complaints are being made and investigations are under way.
Planned protest at X's headquarters
He announced a protest outside X's headquarters on Saturday at 12:00, urging people to demonstrate because, he said, those profiting from abuse must be protested against.
Covalent redundancies and content moderators
He highlighted pickets by Covalent workers at their Sandiford headquarters and echoed concerns raised by colleagues. He said about 300 content moderators who had done moderation work for Meta and trained AI are being made redundant, that the company offered minimal statutory redundancy, refused to recognise the trade union, and treated workers miserably.
AI, moderation and public protection
He warned that AI is being used to replace human moderators who sift out harmful material, leaving stressed workers dealing with mental-health impacts and undermining protections for children and the public. He called for government and public intervention to support the workers' fight for union recognition and decent treatment.
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Yes, so Donald Trump's pal, the richest person in the world, Elon Musk, profiting from producing sexualised images of women without their consent and children, disgustingly, child abuse material and profiting from it. These are Donald Trump's pals and when the alarm bells are raised and people express anger about it, he still wants to monetise it. And it is far from clear that the announcement which has been forced on X as a result of the outrage that has been expressed over the last while will actually mean that this sick, depraved practice and the profiteering of Elon Musk from it is actually going to stop. Last Friday, when I was on national radio and suggested that the laws existed and the police should be sent in to X, at that point Minister O'Donovan was saying it was the users who were responsible, not really the companies. And to my knowledge, nobody, government or opposition, was suggesting that the police should be sent in directly to X. There was talk of legislation being done over time and so on. But it turns out, as we learned from the guards, that actually there are complaints being made and investigations are taking place. We were right. And we are still having a protest outside X's headquarters on Saturday, at 12 o'clock, I just want to say that, because this sickness and the people profiteering from it needs to be protested against it. People have been abused, children have been abused, women have been abused, and there is absolutely no certainty when you think, I am gathering from reading between the lines from Alan Kelly's comments yesterday, that of the companies that say they are coming in, the one that isn't, is probably X. This is the attitude of these people, they don't give a damn about the abuse of children or women if they can make money from it, and in so far as they have been forced to do something about it, it is because of outrage and pressure from the public. And then there is Covalent, and I just want to echo Paul Murphy, I was just talking to one of the workers in Covalent at the moment. And it really sort of tells a lot. They will be picketing outside the headquarters of Covalent in Sandiford, today between three and seven, and again tomorrow between three and seven. What were the content moderators doing content moderation for Meta, another company, who, what was their job, to train AI. It turns out they were training AI to get rid of their own jobs. So 300 of them are now going to have been made redundant. And the Covalent, previously owned by CPL, CPL, another important name, with lots of government contracts, working for the HSE and so on. The bare minimum statutory redundancy that legally they can get away with, no engagement, refusable to recognise the trade union, and so on. Miserable treatment of these workers, who were the ones who actually have to sift out this sick material. Who protect the public, protect children from this sick material, that's what they do. But now it's AI that's going to do it. That's where we're heading with this stuff, and the workers who are actually protecting us, who are stressed to bits, who have to deal with mental health issues, who are protecting our mental health, protecting our children, are treated in an absolutely despicable way, have to go out on strike. So I hope we're going to get intervention in support of the Covalent workers from the government and certainly from the public, because it is not only in the interest of the workers that they are successful in their fight for union recognition and decent treatment, but they are protecting us from these profiteers who make money from the sort of depravity we've seen from X.
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