Ms Triona Quill:

I thank the Senator for his questions. On the timescale for the Future of Media Commission, we have a tight timescale for this legislation because of the transposition of the audiovisual media services directive. It is important to get the new regulator up and running because whatever other recommendations are brought forward at European level for digital regulation or by the Future of Media Commission in respect of services in Ireland, it is important to have a robust and substantial regulator in place which can handle that. There is a real urgency around getting this legislation enacted. The Senator is correct that it will be important to introduce timely legislation to implement the recommendations of the Future of Media Commission. I would see that legislation as separate from this Bill.

On the regulatory framework, we are going through the detailed drafting with the Office of the Attorney General on the definitions in the Bill.

As a result, we want to make those as watertight and functional as possible. A rights balancing approach needs to be in place. It is important that the nature of any harms that are provided for in the Bill are such that other rights are protected. It is about striking that balance between allowing people to express their views online and protecting the rights of other individuals not to be subjected to serious abuse. It is a tricky balance to strike. We are working through the process in that regard with the Office of the Attorney General at the moment. We recognise the importance of this issue.

In terms of the sanctions on powers, there are a number of key sanctions that can ultimately be taken. As we mentioned earlier, one of these involves administrative financial sanctions up to €20 million or 10% of turnover. These are substantial fines. The Future of Media Commission will, however, have the power to issue both warning notices and compliance notices to services directing them to take certain actions, be it to remove certain material or change the way they operate their complaints processes. It will also be able to direct them to take other actions to bring them into compliance with the codes. Ultimately, if the Future of Media Commission is in a position to order the blocking of a particular service, all of these will be subject to court oversight to ensure that referral procedures will be in place for all sides. They are serious sanctions which will give extensive powers to the regulator.