Ms Caoilfhionn Gallagher:

I apologise. That was my watch. The technology is talking back to me.

The first issue was on privacy. I agree with points made by Dr. Shrishak, Dr. Ryan, Professor O'Sullivan and Ms Cooney. I just want to add one additional point that has not been raised on privacy, which is important. In the UNCRC general comment mentioned earlier, when it considers privacy, there is an additional issue to be alert to, which is that it highlights that there are sometimes risks to children from caregivers. That is extremely important. This is why a nuanced approach is essential. When ensuring there are robust practices with regard to privacy, it does not, for example, prevent a child from accessing a helpline searching for sensitive information, particularly where we have a situation where a child may be at risk in his or her home environment or within his or her community. That is a particular issue with regard to girls in some communities. It is a particular issue, for example, with regard to LGBT youth and a number of other areas. That is just a very important point. It is in paragraphs 76 and 77 of the general comment. Also in respect of privacy, the general comment makes the point that one of the rights protected in the UNCRC is the principle of evolving capacities and the idea that as a child grows older, he or she develops in a different way. They are not mini adults. A child who is eight is very different to a child who is 15, of course. Children also have a right of access to information and freedom of expression. It is a nuanced area, and I think it is dealt with well in the general comment. I hope that is of use.

The next point was the issue about age verification. In principle, I of course agree that this is a topic with which we have not yet grappled adequately and we do not yet have an answer. I am not aware of a magic bullet that answers this properly. Often, some of the proposals people come up with regarding age verification create additional problems. They are either unworkable or they may impact on privacy rights themselves, for example, by creating databases of information. This is an issue that has been dealt with for a long time in the offline world. I am in my late 40s. When I was under 18, I spent many evenings attending the Grove on the northside with a fake ID and, for some reason, learning my horoscope and what my zodiac sign was.

There was a view that somehow the doorman at The Grove knew a lot about the signs of the Zodiac and you could say, "I am a Scorpio," or something, and it was key. It has been an issue we have grappled with for a long time. It is a key issue but I am afraid I do not know of a magic bullet which answers it.

The last point was on the production of harmful content. Inspired by what Professor O'Sullivan said, the committee will be pleased to hear I am not going to come up with a criminal law on the hoof. However, there is very important issue here, and not just in Ireland. Many principles in relation to cyber-harassment, etc., focus on the idea of a pattern of conduct aimed at a single particular victim and you need to show a pattern of conduct aimed at a single particular victim, but really what Professor O'Sullivan was talking about, and what we are all talking about here, relates to a pattern of conduct which is dangerous to the public in general or a pattern of conduct which is dangerous to particularly women or girls, for example, or particular minorities. There is a real challenge there because many of our laws assume one victim pattern of conduct over a period of time and do not look at pattern of conduct which is perpetrator pattern rather than victim-related pattern.

Finally, on international best practice, Dr. Ryan wants to deal with this and will deal with it far more comprehensively than I. I just wanted to point to the UNICEF guidance on that issue. I am afraid it makes clear that UNICEF and the Government of Finland, when they conducted their review in detail of 20 national AI strategies internationally, concluded that engagement on children's issues was immature. Their conclusion was there were problems. There are some good examples in the case studies, particularly from Finland and Sweden, from the Nordic countries and they can be found at pages 48 onwards. They are worth looking at, but they are quite sector specific. The short answer is that there is not any magic bullet in that field either.