Mr. Pat Ryan:

I have been head of the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau for the past six months. One of the issues, even in terms of regulations, is that time is of the essence with reference to content that is posted on social media websites. As Chief Superintendent Gubbins stated, it is like making a telephone call. It is instantaneous. One of the bigger challenges we will have is that the content may not reside in this jurisdiction. When something is posted online, it does not take long for it to be on other social media websites. That is also a challenge for An Garda Síochána. In bureau investigations I have seen the difficulties in getting evidential data which is online. That is something that will need to be considered in any future proposal or regulation. The key message from me is that time is of the essence in order that if something happens in this jurisdiction, it can be taken down quickly. Also, there should be no delays because once something is online, it can be anywhere.