Mr. Peter Feeney:

The function of the new online safety commissioner will largely be ensuring that material that goes up on social media is not harmful. The Government proposal for an online safety commissioner is vital for dealing with some of the issues mentioned by the Chairman. The issue of anonymity is central. Anonymity allows people to say virtually what they like free of any concerns about any comeback. We have had letters to newspapers for hundreds of years but those letters have a name at the bottom. The person has put his or her name there and said this is what his or her views are but if you go on social media, you can be anonymous, have a nom de plumeor have several different names. One of the issues is the need to find some mechanism of ensuring that people cannot hide behind anonymity. I do not think we should buy into social media companies saying they cannot trace people. Of course, they can trace a person. Everybody can be traced. The committee will recall that last year, there were successful prosecutions of citizens who named children involved in court cases, etc., where the gardaí were able to find out who was behind it even though the tweets were made anonymously so it can be done. Anonymity is a major issue. Interestingly, the Irish Independenthas by and large stopped taking comments under its articles and The Irish Times has introduced a requirement that only people who have registered with it can put up comments. This has, if I may use the term, civilised the comments to a certain extent in The Irish Times and reduced that damage in the Irish Independent. It is very difficult to deal with.

I recognise that social media is a very useful platform for Deputies and Senators to address the public and that engaging in debate with trolls who go after them is not beneficial. I am not saying social media is not valuable. It is hugely valuable as a means to communication. It is also a very effective means of communication because it is not expensive. You can see how at election time, more and more parties are putting resources into their social media campaigns.

We just have to recognise they are now a major player in the field and need to be regulated in the same way that print, radio and television are regulated.

In response to Deputy O'Donoghue's remarks about RTÉ, it does not come under my remit at all. I used to work in RTÉ, so the Deputy will allow me to be biased, but I cannot answer as to how RTÉ should deal with independence. From my experience - I am going back more than a decade - when you put together current affairs programmes, you think of Government and Opposition. Now we have the unusual position of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party in government and Sinn Féin as the major Opposition party, so they tend to get the lion's share of the space. Common sense would say there has to be space for Independents as well. At the moment, however, if I were a current affairs producer and had only two slots, I would think Government and Opposition and, therefore, I would think Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Greens and then, on the Opposition, Sinn Féin first and Labour second. I would probably think of Independents and lesser groupings only after that. I can understand the sense of grievance Independents have that it simply never seems to be their turn, but it is not for me to comment on that because RTÉ, and broadcasting in general, does not come under my remit.