Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for attending. I welcome the submissions and look forward to their answers, as they are an integral part of the global communications network.

I will start with a general observation. I do not think there is a public representative who has not had a friend or colleague harassed online or worried parents contacting our constituency offices to complain about their children suffering because of alleged abusive content published on one of the witnesses' social media platforms. I know they are here to comment on the general scheme of the online safety and media regulation Bill. I welcome that, but the public are rightly worried when existing protections are not fit for purpose. The latter erodes people's confidence in any further protective measures, especially when they perceive global companies such as the ones before the committee are not acting in their full interests.

The witnesses stated they have worldwide experts in many fields working on their teams. They all outlined the systems used to protect people who use their sites but there are ongoing and significant complaints about abuse, bullying and harassment on the platforms. One of the consistent complaints we hear is the length of time it takes for this type of content to be removed. What is the current timeframe and objective from when complaints are made to the removal of harmful content? What mechanisms are in place in the organisations to protect staff, especially their mental health, because we know they have to go through a lot of disturbing and violent content?

Last week, we heard from the Children's Rights Alliance about the importance of an individual complaints' mechanism for the safety of young people online. What is the perspective of each of the witnesses on that issue and could they explain the reason for it?

Could the witnesses also flesh out why they want to remove interpersonal communications services from the scope of the proposed legislation? We know children and young people are accessing online platforms, including but not limited to violence, pornographic images and child sex abuse. How is this content still accessible on the platforms? At present, what steps are taken if a child is underage and how do they verify the age of users?