Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 7 November 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment

Session 5: Future Collaboration

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I agree. We have done very good work today and yesterday. It has been very informative. We set ourselves the ambitious target of answering where is the point for international collaboration. As the Chair says, there are myriad different possible points but none is immediately achievable.

To cite our experience in the referendum, which our Singaporean colleagues cited several times, this became an issue of concern and at the last minute the platforms withdrew from advertising because it was so contentious. It would be very useful if we, as a group representing several parliaments, came out with the sort of moratorium the Chair talks of because it would not just leave it to the platforms to make the decision. It would be one political voice in this space asking for that action to take place. As Lord Puttnam says, this is a fairly immediate issue in the UK. We have an election coming up in the spring and our Singaporean colleagues are on the same sort of timeline and the US presidential election is not very far away. If we could get broad agreement on such a moratorium, it would be very beneficial and it would prevent what happened in our case, when it happened by default without any political contribution. Our contribution would be useful and timely and may encourage the wider collaboration that is our overall aim. It is only one measure, it is interim and temporary, but it would not be insignificant.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.