Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I share the Deputy's vision around the trusted flagger. I will walk the committee through the role and the conditions. There are already conditions and a very high bar for applicants to meet, and that is combined with the very high level of transparency that is built into the DSA. We want to make sure, and we agree with the Deputy, that trusted flagger status cannot be used as a means of controlling content.

As to the bar, first, Coimisiún na Meán, as the DSC, will be required to carry out due diligence to assess every application for trusted flagger to ensure it meets the conditions set out in Article 22 of the DSA. These conditions include that it has particular expertise for detecting, identifying and notifying illegal content and that it carries out its activities for the purposes of submitting notices diligently, accurately and objectively. Under the DSA, providers must put mechanisms in place to allow all users to more easily flag illegal content online. Article 16 of the DSA requires hosting services to put in place these user-friendly notice and action mechanisms. This enables the user to notify the provider of items of information the user considers to be illegal. Trusted flaggers use the same mechanisms but will have a priority channel.

Users whose content has been modified will also have strengthened rights under the DSA. An online provider will have to provide clear and specific reasons for the removal or limitation of content considered illegal. Providers must provide users with access to an effective internal complaint handling system and the option of an out-of-court dispute resolution.

Trusted flaggers themselves will be required to publish a report at least yearly on the notices they have submitted, including information on the number of notices, type of allegedly illegal content notified, and the action taken by the provider. That report must be submitted yearly to Coimisiún na Meán.

On amendment No. 33, it is already the case that the DSC must provide the European Commission with the details of entities to which it has awarded trusted flagger status. This goes back to the previous amendment. It must also provide information about trusted flaggers whose status has been either suspended or revoked. That information has to be published on a public database. If Coimisiún na Meán has reason to suspect there is a misuse of the status, which the Deputy is concerned about, based on information from a provider or a third party, it can investigate the entity concerned. Its trusted flagger status is suspended during the investigation.

On amendment No. 35, Article 22(7) of the DSA provides that third parties can complain about trusted flaggers, so this will take direct effect. We feel it does not require an amendment to the Bill. This article states that the DSC that awarded the status of trusted flagger to an entity will revoke the status if it determines, following an investigation either on its own initiative or on the basis of information received from third parties, including the information provided by a provider of online platforms, that the entity no longer meets the conditions to be a trusted flagger. One of those conditions, as I have said previously, is that it carries out its activities for the purposes of submitting notices diligently, accurately and objectively.

We feel it is not necessary to include the amendments as proposed by the Deputy and that her concerns are captured within the Bill.