Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I apologise to our guests; like Senator Ruane I am trying to attend two committees at once. In a way they are on the same issue. I apologise if I ask questions that have already been asked. I want to start where Professor O'Sullivan finished. There is clear liability here and it is beyond reckless. These companies know. In 2014 Facebook published in academic journals research about the emotional contagion and manipulating users' posts. That was ten years ago. They know exactly what they are doing to make significant money. Surely they are liable for the harm they have caused. If they are not, why not? Do we need legislative reform to look at this? I look to the special rapporteur for children's rights regarding legislative reform in this regard. Regulation needs enforcement at the same time. We have seen underregulation and underenforcement of data protection measures. The justice committee has spent a lot of time speaking about the challenges in this regard. The committee should look at this and make recommendations not only on regulation but on the enforcement that goes with it and ensure these things have proper teeth.

Finland has produced its own policy guidance and adaptations. I am curious about the value of us doing this. Many times when we as TDs and Senators tell the Government it needs to look at X, Y and Z we are told that Europe is doing it. We are told we do not need to do it because Europe will do it or that we do not need to legislate on something because Europe will do it for us. I would love to hear a bit about the interaction in this regard. What can we do here that will not be surpassed by Europe? What should we do here to ensure there is effective regulation coming at European Union level?