Mr. Declan McLoughlin:

I will make some supplemental remarks around the wider issue of vulnerable adults. At the core of the code is the concept of regulating harmful or illegal content. The code sets out a number of definitions and types of content. The Irish legislation most especially refers to content related to cyberbullying, humiliation, feeding and eating disorders, and the areas of self-harm and suicide. The European directive, which we draw on, talks about age-inappropriate content and the vulnerability of children who are not in a position to meaningfully engage with content that might be more suitable for adults. The basis of the code is dealing with people in vulnerable situations. The basis of the various mechanisms in the code around terms and conditions, limitations in uploading content, age verification and so on is to address people in vulnerable situations and manage those situations within the framework of the code.

In terms of AI being used to identify vulnerable adults and other people, my general understanding is that there are some initiatives in that field but I will have to come back to the committee with more details on that. I know from meeting with some of the social media platforms that in certain instances they will make alterations to how their systems work in order to protect some of the users of their services. Again, I do not have the details of that right now but I will follow up with a supplemental response on the examples we have.