Mr. Peter Feeney:

I thank Deputy Higgins who covered a wide area. I will address some of her points.

The Government proposal to introduce some form of regulation of social media is a vital and necessary measure. There is a recognition in the proposals in the Bill that it is not possible to moderate social media in advance of publication. In other words, because there are millions of postings on Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok, etc., every hour, it is simply inconceivable that all of those could go through some sort of moderation process first. The key question, as mentioned by Deputy Higgins, is how do these social media companies address complaints. In the first instance, can a member of the public complain easily? Second, if someone can complain, can that complaint be addressed quickly because tweets and messages need to be taken down if they are threatening, offensive, damaging or whatever else they may happen to be? In my view, the major social media companies have put in place some structures for dealing with complaints but they are not at all user-friendly for the ordinary citizen. For example, there is no telephone number for ringing up Facebook. I can send a message to but that is as likely to be opened in California as it is in Dublin. How will the person who answers that be able to understand the nuances of Irish politics to make a decision on how important that message is?

The Government proposal must concentrate on ensuring that all social media companies have in place proper, effective mechanisms to deal with complaints and take down material. They need to be fined if they do not do that and the fines need to be seven figure sums. There is no point in fining Facebook €100,000. That is coffee money. These companies need to be fined millions if they are in breach. They have already accepted the need for regulation so the door is, to a certain extent, ajar.

It is absolutely necessary that the new proposals provide that if Facebook, etc., do not take down material and respond quickly and effectively and have mechanisms in place to deal with this, they should be punished and fined. These companies do not lack the resources to do this. They are hugely successful commercial operations that have the resources to put effective mechanisms in place to deal with complaints. Of course, there will be accusations of censorship and that people’s opinions are being suppressed but people with experience and good judgment should be capable of looking at something and saying that it is just an expression of a viewpoint and is not harmful.

These companies use algorithms at the moment to deal with many issues. Algorithms will address the taking out of language which is unacceptable and may address issues like the amount of naked body flesh visible on a screen but they cannot deal with the subtleties of many complaints. We receive quite a few phone calls into our office from people saying they have an issue with Facebook. We explain that we cannot help them because Facebook does not come under our remit and we talk through them through how they can complain to Facebook. Most people feel this is a terrible David and Goliath situation and almost impossible to deal with.

The Government is on the right lines and I am hoping this Bill will become an Act fairly soon. It will have to be reviewed because, inevitably, devices will be found to get around or minimise its impact on the commercial model of social media companies.

The Deputy raised the important issue of photo-shopping. Advertising does not come within our remit. The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland is an independent body but my understanding is that the new media authority of Ireland will incorporate advertising. That is to be welcomed because it will mean there will be a statutory body looking after advertising in the future. Issues such as body-shaming could well be included in guidelines or actual regulations because it would not be that difficult to do that. We all recognise that advertising would not exist if it was not effective. If it is effective, we have to look at both its good and bad messages. If it has bad messages, there should be a means of dealing with that.

The Deputy made a about journalists. It is inevitable that the majority of journalism going forward will be accessed via online versions. The future of print newspapers and magazines is going to be quite difficult. I am hoping that journalism will continue but that it will be predominantly online in the future. We can see evidence of that in other countries where newspapers have simply ceased having a print edition and have gone online only. There are obvious commercial issues to be taken into account and my own view is that there will be a loss. Accepting that this is probably inevitable, it is very important that every single Irish regional newspaper now has some online presence. There is a terrible balance to be struck.

The regional newspaper with which I am most familiar is theSouthern Starbecause I spend a great deal of time in west Cork. The Southern Staris a very good local newspaper. It has an online addition but if it puts too much up on its online addition, there is no incentive for the public to buy its print edition. If no one buys its print edition, it will not have resources. There is, therefore, a balance to be struck. The newspaper will put up four to five stories on its online edition and the rest of the newspaper will then be found in the version that is purchased each week in a local supermarket.

Going forward, given that online journalism is transnational, Irish media will need assistance. The Journal is a good example of that. It is a good, reputable online-only news operation, which provides good and accurate information to people who use it and space for debate and comment, etc. One of the problems, however, which is very hard to address, is that the comments of readers underneath those legitimate and good journalistic articles can be very misogynistic and aggressive.

I do not know a Deputy or Senator who has not said to me over the years that the very practice of knocking on constituents' doors at election time has moved from being a relatively pleasant experience 20 years ago to becoming frequently an aggressive experience now. In the past, when a Fianna Fáil person knocked on a Fine Gael voter's door, the person would still be polite. Deputies and Senators tell me they are often abused at doors now because people pick up on the cynical, anti-establishment tone from social media which can be very aggressive and unpleasant. Women Members of the Oireachtas, in particular, have experienced this and are subject to what can only be described as vile abuse at times. There is no argument but that the comments on online newspapers needs to be regulated, just as much as the whole area of comments on Facebook, Twitter, etc., needs to be regulated. Getting that balance right will be very difficult and will not be achieved once and for all time. It will be a balance that will have to be addressed again and again.

I very much hope the Government will put a new media authority of Ireland in place with the resources, skills and expertise to be able to carry out what will be a very important task but also a very difficult one. I hope that answers Deputy Higgins's questions.