Swiss government minister sues ‘misogynistic’ Grok

Keller-Sutter wants to test who is responsible for insulting social media posts Keystone / Peter Schneider

Swiss finance minister Karin Keller-Sutter has filed a criminal complaint for defamation after facing insulting and misogynist comments on social media.

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A spokesperson for the government minister confirmed the lawsuit to the Tamedia Swiss news group.

A user on the social media platform X specifically instructed the platform’s embedded AI ​​chatbot Grok to hurl sexist insults at Keller-Sutter. The Swiss federal councillor has issued a defamation lawsuit against persons unknown.

“Such misogyny must not be considered normal or acceptable,” Keller-Sutter’s spokesperson Pascal Hollenstein is quoted. “It is essential to take a stand against such misogynistic remarks and to hold the perpetrators accountable.”

Part of the objective of the lawsuit is to determine whether social media companies and their operators, in addition to individual authors, can be held criminally liable.

Monika Simmler, a professor of criminal law at the University of St Gallen, believes there is a good chance of prosecuting the authors of such prompts, even if the posts are subsequently deleted.

Translated from German by AI/mga

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