New draft laws due for publication by the government will end the “era of self-regulation” in the social media industry, according to recent reporting.
The new online safety law, which is set to be published in the coming months, will involve a national system that oversees social media companies, as well as appointing a new Online Safety Commissioner.
CyberSafe Ireland
This move from government comes in response to research published by CyberSafe Ireland, a not-for-profit organisation that seeks to promote online safety. The research includes information on the ease at which young children can set up online social media accounts, as well as the worrying prevalence of communication between children and adult strangers.
CyberSafe Ireland has recommended “robust monitoring and regulation” of online service providers, and that it was essential that online service providers are held to account, both in Ireland and abroad.
In seeking to tackle this pervasive issue in Irish society, CyberSafe called for a public awareness campaign, and that there needed to be a more “comprehensive and consistent” school curriculum on digital safety alongside other traditional mainstays of education, such as reading and writing.
Government Response
Responding to the organisation’s findings, the Department of Communications said that the government intended to bring forward new laws which would require online providers to operate under “a new safety code certified by an independent Online Safety Commissioner”, part its Action Plan for Online Safety which was launched in 2018.
Commenting on how Richard Bruton, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, intended to bring an outline of the new bill forward to government this term, it stated that the era of self-regulation by social media services would be ended.
Current Regulations Inadequate
Under current Irish and EU law, online platforms are required to remove material which is considered a criminal offence to publish, including content that promotes incitement to violence or hatred, terrorist propaganda and child sexual abuse material.
However, some groups believe that these regulations are not stringent enough, and that more robust controls must be implemented in order to govern internet and social media firms effectively, taking preventative steps to protect victims, often children, from being exposed to such heinous content.