Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank all of the witnesses for their contributions. As Deputy O'Callaghan said, we aim to sort out or come to some sense of where we can make recommendations regarding the reform of laws around all of this. It goes into another area, which has been evident from the conversation. Laws may not always be the appropriate way to deal with it and there may be other things that can be done. I would like to tease that out. One of the things I am interested in is the platforms and their liability in this area. While there may be difficulty in finding the person because of anonymity, even when he or she is found, all one can do at the moment is ask the platforms to take it down. The platforms can take down the offensive images or comments but often they do not. There can be a fight to make sure that happens and the individual feels he or she is very much David against Goliath. Should Goliath be more responsible for the situation? Should there be some way of ensuring that the platform is liable and should there be a sanction against it if it does not act within an appropriate timeframe? We know the Internet is instant, which is what makes it great to use. How do the witnesses think ensuring platforms take down offensive content within an appropriate timeframe could be legislated for or do they think there is a means of legislating for it?