Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have a question for Ms Cooney. The Data Protection Bill will be dealt with this afternoon and I wonder about the digital age of consent being raised to 16 years of age. I know about the inaccurate picture pornography, etc., give to children but there is also a lot of positive content online that somebody might not get from a parent, peers or school. Will raising the age of digital consent to 16 years of age cause problems under the current system in regard to children being able to engage positively on particular platforms, especially if they come from groups such as LGBT or with intellectual disabilities where people are already isolated and they use the likes of Facebook to share experiences. If the legislation is passed and the digital age of consent is increased to 16 years of age, will that have a negative impact on people being able to engage online positively in terms of sexual experiences or relationships?