Dr. Eileen Culloty:

Regarding disinformation, the Deputy is absolutely right that each platform does completely different actions. What happens on each platform differs. One of the big problems is that we do not know whether those actions are effective. We also do not know the extent of the impact of disinformation on these platforms. All of that comes back to the fact that platforms are not obliged to share this data with independent researchers or authorities who could actually verify what is happening. That is why we are arguing that disinformation should be included, explicitly named, in the Bill because it already falls within the remit of the BAI, which currently has a role in monitoring the EU code of practice on disinformation. The EU Digital Services Act, the democracy action plan and the media action plan all clearly reference disinformation.

We should also note that all these issues are interrelated. We tend to talk about them as completely separate issues, as though problems with online harms and child safety, attacks on journalists and disinformation that might undermine democracy were not related. These are all interrelated and the common denominator is the online platforms. It makes sense for a new media regulator to have that broad perspective, which would give it more power in dealing with platforms.