Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to tease out some of those issues, as they will be crucial questions around an individual complaints mechanism. We would be concerned if such a mechanism was part of the media commission yet the regulator had to deal with complaints in the first instance. In those circumstances, we will be looking at drawing up codes and setting a statutory duty of care on some of the platforms. What do the witnesses believe we should include in that duty of care? Should there be variations depending on the type of platform? For example, Facebook and Twitter are very outward facing. Should they be subject to different expectations than WhatsApp or a private messaging group? The Chair posed Dr. McAuley some questions about sanctions. They are crucial in this regard. There is also the question of remedies. I would be interested in hearing the witnesses' views on same. For anyone, but children in particular, what remedies do they believe could be offered?

My final question is a general one and gets to the crux of much of this debate. Do the witnesses consider a number of these social media platforms to be platforms or publishers?