Mr. Liam Herrick:

On the first question, it goes to a question brought up in the earlier session by Senator Warfield on the question of the interface between regulation within the industry and the platforms and State intervention. It is an incredibly complex question. We all accept self-regulation is not satisfactory or ultimately acceptable as a solution to the problem of online harm. On the other hand, it is doing it without the capacity of the State to regulate in an invasive and comprehensive way the huge volume of material that is produced or regulated by these companies.

One of the interesting models being brought forward by international human rights organisations is the idea of a social media council, which would be an interface between self-regulation moderation in companies and potentially state bodies, such as an online safety or media commission. Our colleagues in the ARTICLE 19 freedom of expression organisation are exploring the idea of piloting such a model in Ireland. There is innovative thinking on how we might link the moderation and standards within platforms with a state safety perspective.

The Deputy asked another question about the regulation of private communications that are criminal in content. As members might hear from An Garda Síochána and other criminal justice agencies of the State, they are already very much engaged in monitoring criminal activity online and the dissemination of illegal material. There are international co-operation agreements in place in that regard. There is much going on in that space already.

There was a question on defining cyberbullying put to Dr. McIntyre a while ago. It is not for us to come up with a definition but when we look at the detail of what is proposed here, material that might have the effect of being humiliating to another person sets an incredibly low threshold for imposing a strict regulatory imposition on content that might be deemed offensive or humiliating to an adult. As Dr. McIntyre states, this goes far beyond the idea of regulating illegal content, which was the purpose of the directive. That is not to say, of course, that we do not all want to take positive action to deal with bullying online. The idea that this is solely to be achieved through regulation of this type does not fully appreciate the nature of bullying and the wide range of social and psychological factors involved with dealing with that very complex problem.