Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair and the committee for indulging me. I will try to be as brief as possible. I am interested in online advertisements and Dr. Suiter's experience in this regard. Could she give us an idea of any comparable legal changes that are taking place in other countries around the area of disinformation? Are any of them put on a legal basis or are they just guides and policies for companies to follow? One of my big concerns is not paid online advertisements and transparency around that but disinformation and nefarious actors coming into that area. Are there any examples of best practice from other countries?

I am also interested in the point on the evolution of the electoral commission and on it not being able to evolve into a 21st century commission. Does Dr. Suiter consider there is sufficient flexibility in the Bill to allow the electoral commission to develop guides around, for example, who can take part in party leader debates so that it is not simply up to RTÉ to set the policy? Is there a role for something like an independent electoral commission in that? I am interested in the archive being made available afterwards. Does she think that is worthy of an amendment to the Bill so that tech companies make online articles available in real time?

Head 80 states that the electoral commission can inform policy and Dr. Reidy said that there is no detail provided on when that will begin. What type of issues does she envisage it looking at? Is it simply around electoral reform? Is it simply around the register or does it cover a wider area beyond that?