Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Moynihan is probably correct to say that some people have the impression that the normal law of the land does not apply online and a minority behaves recklessly without any regard to the hurt they inflict. The truth is that defamation law and the criminal law relating to harassment apply online. In the latter case, the Garda has advised my Department that the interpretation by the courts of the law on harassment is very narrow. It may be worth the committee's time to probe whether it is feasible to refurbish the law in that particular regard. The Defamation Act 2009 applies to online comments as it does to comment offline. If defamatory content is posted outside the jurisdiction, redress poses a significant challenge to the average citizen. There is no point in brushing over that.

The answer to Deputy Moynihan's second question is "Yes". These issues have been discussed at the Council of Europe and to a lesser extent at European Union level. It has come to be discussed recently in the EU but has not traditionally been a manifest competence of the Union. The discussion has gone on more at the Council of Europe which has made recommendations and reached conclusions on safer and better Internet use, especially for children. The focus has been on children and the Department of Education and Skills has recently published guidelines on the area. If the Deputy is asking if I think it would be possible to legislate on an international basis, while I look forward to the committee's decision and the expert evidence, it is extremely difficult to do that. It is not feasible. Insofar as we can examine our domestic law for deficiencies, we are committed to doing so.