Eamonn Coghlan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. I have listened to various points of view that were expressed by members of the committee today. The four words that come to mind while most people spoke were "accountability", "responsibility", "traceability" and "anonymity". Accountability and responsibility go hand in hand. Where does accountability lie when it comes to the cyberbully? Does accountability lie with the adult who does it? Does it lie with the parent of the young person who is cyberbullying? Does it lie with the service provider? We know what happens if a defamatory comment is made in the print media. Obviously the newspaper is responsible for what it prints and it has legal protection. Does the responsibility lie with the education system in terms of teaching young people how not to abuse social media?

Traceability and accountability also go hand in hand. The Minister stated that one can seek a court order to identify an IP address. The difficulty that we have with the Internet is cyberbullying because 0.9% of what goes on it is not good. Is there any way that we can eliminate anonymity? For example, when someone seeks an IP address should he or she be asked to supply his or her passport number? Should they give a credit card number? If somebody wants to post something on the Internet should there be a charge? Imposing a cost could discourage people from posting something online. Is there any way to eliminate the anonymity of social media? Can a person who wants to post something online be clearly identified right from the beginning?