Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will deal first with the presentation by CyberSafeIreland and the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, ISPCC. There is a feeling and a view being propagated out there that the Internet has empowered everybody now that we can connect with people all over the world. According to Facebook there are 1.4 billion users on Facebook daily. I believe the Internet has had a hugely disempowering effect in some ways. CyberSafeIreland highlighted the UK survey where adults and children felt powerless to address online safety issues.

If they are powerless to address their own safety they are seriously disempowered. It is useful that Ms Cooney highlighted that and the insufficient oversight today. The example given by the ISPCC of the 15 year old girl is shocking. That is a life and death issue because she feels she wants to kill herself. Facebook and Google talk about their online communities. There are no communities of 1.4 billion people. Communities are a different entity and it is a misuse of the word by Facebook and Google. In real communities we know, unfortunately, of cases like this where lives have been taken over issues such as revenge pornography and bullying of young people online. That is the context for the important Bill that Deputy Ó Laoghaire has brought forward.

Google highlighted the importance of education and said that it alone could solve the problem of online bullying. That is what it seems to indicate in its presentation. Education of itself will not stop somebody who wants to misuse the Internet. That is a huge challenge for Google and Facebook and for us as legislators to deal with. Will the witnesses from Google address that issue in more depth because stating that education alone could deal with this does not do justice to or deal properly with this? We will need strict criteria and legislation and means of enforcing that.

Facebook says it has 1.4 billion users every day. On the last occasion it was here, in August if I remember correctly, it stated that it has 20,000 people moderating what is online. I was surprised by that number but it shows the extent of the problem, the challenge and difficulty of trying to moderate what appears on the platform. Does this show the witnesses that this problem is nearly impossible to deal with? That is probably one of the biggest challenges facing the company, us as legislators and governments around the world. Does that highlight the need for direct State intervention?

In its presentation Facebook highlighted the need for freedom of expression. As somebody who campaigned against section 31 of the Broadcasting Act 1960 throughout the 1980s and 1990s which was repealed by Uachtarán na hÉireann, Michael D. Higgins, one of the best things he ever did, I do not think we want to limit freedom of expression too much. A line, however, has to be drawn around safety and what should be allowed. Do the witnesses from Facebook and Google believe that it should be left to private companies and corporate entities to define what should be tolerated in terms of freedom of expression or is it for government bodies to do that?

The Law Reform Commission's definition of offences refers to pornography, intimidating and threatening messages whether directed at public figures or private individuals, harassment, stalking or non-consensual taking and communication of intimate images.

What role should Facebook and Google have in addressing the issue of fake news and the spread of misinformation about individuals? Politicians have been targeted with this type of misinformation in the past, and, in some cases, it has had detrimental effects. Such misinformation included false accusations against public figures. Should that be included in the definition of "harmful material"?

The Department mentioned that certain minimum standards would be set. As a member state of the European Union should we be entitled to add to that and threaten more stringent regulations? Does the Department feel that Deputy Ó Laoghaire's Bill is in any way counter to EU law, and if so in what way?

My final question is for Facebook or the Department. Who should fund the office of the digital safety commissioner?