Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour)
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I thank Ms Duke for her presentation, which was very good, particularly when dealing with digital citizenship and how YouTube, along with the Internet, can be used as a force for good. The example of the US President, Mr. Obama, dealing with bullying and LGBT groups shows how YouTube and the Internet can be used positively. With regard to the flagging system YouTube has for inappropriate material, in some ways it only happens after the event. There was a case in Dublin recently of a young man dodging a taxi fare after a night out which was videoed and, subsequently, put up on YouTube. It went viral but another young man was identified wrongly as the man in the video and he had to go to court to try to have it taken down. Is there someone in real time monitoring what is going up on YouTube?

I accept that freedom of expression includes the right to remain anonymous. However, if someone uses anonymity as a disguise to put up offensive material or attack someone personally on YouTube, is it possible for the victims to trace the source of the video?