Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms McSweeney for a very helpful presentation. She stated that Twitter should be positive, enriching and safe and I agree with this. She showed how young people use Twitter to learn, and mentioned a history class in Tipperary. It is good to hear these examples. How young are Twitter users? We tend to think of Twitter as more for older users and Facebook more for teens. Does Ms McSweeney have data on the Irish population?

I wish to discuss corporate social responsibility. Based on what I hear from teachers and parents, they would appreciate a helpline in Ireland. This helpline might be funded by all of the social media and not just by Twitter. When parents, teachers and counsellors, including mental health counsellors, have a concern they want a quick response but after e-mailing, they often find help is not forthcoming from the social media provider. Ms McSweeney mentioned a hotline in the UK. Who funds this hotline? Would Twitter consider being a part funder of a hotline here?

We all want the content being posted to be safe for young people and children. Deputy Colreavy spoke about the damage that is likely and may have been done to some young people. We cannot dismiss this or say it did not happen. Does Twitter moderate content or does it completely rely on self-reporting? I understand almost 1 billion tweets are sent within a three-day period. With regard to Twitter completely relying on self-reporting, not everybody is as enabled or as aware as Ms McSweeney explained to us today. What can Twitter do to educate people above and beyond the helpline it already provides?

How quickly does Twitter intervene when inappropriate content is brought to its attention? Does Twitter spot it? How much interaction has Twitter had with the Garda on reports of abuse on Twitter?