Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 19 May 2021
Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht
General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed)
Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source
In recent weeks, we have had numerous groups in which advocate for children and their rights. They were saying children who have been victims of cyber bullying, for example, struggle to have the content removed. It seems to me Facebook is in favour a systemic complaints system, but all the groups we have had in are of the opinion an individual complaints mechanism is vital. Can Mr. Ó Broin explain his reason for favouring the systemic as opposed to the individual mechanism?
I recently saw media reports which stated Facebook intends to install end-to-end encryption on its private message service. The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, ISPCC, has said it will make Facebook's child abuse detection tools completely useless. Could Mr. Ó Broin comment on that too? In its current form, the Bill does not cover encrypted services.
One of Twitter's main concerns seems to be around sanctions on social media companies and the affect they would have on the viability of businesses. Does Mr. Costello not agree significant sanctions are required in order to discourage social media platforms from breaching the legislation, if doing so may lead to financial gain?
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