Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Twitter and Facebook for allowing their representatives to appear before the committee to engage and co-operate with us because that is really important. This is perhaps one of our most important meetings because we are talking about electoral reform and the importance of election integrity, confidence and trust.

This is the cornerstone of democracy, locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. We know that these platforms are in demand. I will not share too much detail with the committee, but I took the time to check out the Twitter and Facebook accounts of all Oireachtas Members. What I found is very interesting. Many members will be familiar with the type of engagement that happens and many people will have been impacted upon negatively by that engagement. It is significant that representatives of Facebook and Twitter are with us this morning.

The public conversation regarding Twitter and Facebook, particularly in the context of elections, is fundamental. Content influences decisions, be they good, bad or indifferent, based on misinformation, false news or wrong motives. That is the reality. While Facebook and Twitter are unique and powerful, they are also potentially very powerful instruments to be used to abuse people and the political process. That has to be a concern for anyone who represents the democratic parliament. Every day, we are having these conversations, but particularly in an election, they determine the outcomes. That is a really important point.

I would like to ask two questions because I want to hear more from Facebook and Twitter. They arise on foot of the opening statements. My first question is to Mr. Ó Broin. He mentioned the danger of online platforms such as Facebook finding themselves under two inconsistent regulatory regimes in terms of EU and Irish law and stated that Facebook has been dealing with this issue in the context of Brexit. I am familiar with Brexit and the challenges it poses for the North, the South and the Border area. Surely, Facebook has found itself in a similar situation in the past. If so, how did it handle it?

My next question is to Mr. Costello. He rightly stated that we have not fully realised the dangers of the algorithm-optimised and the micro-targeted political messaging on social media platforms, as referenced by previous speakers. In Mr. Costello's opinion, what steps could a body such as the proposed electoral commission take to offset some of these negative affects and the phenomenon in an Irish context? I would appreciate it if the witnesses could give me relatively concise responses.