Catherine Noone (Fine Gael)
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We have all heard about children attempting to swipe or click books. Another issue I wish to raise is childhood obesity, an area in which I do a lot of work. We spoke about the importance of getting stakeholders on board when it comes to Internet safety, and the same applies here. Food companies must buy into the process if we are to succeed in reducing the sugar content of foods, reformulating recipes and so on. The reality is that Internet companies and marketing providers in the food industry target junk food advertising at children. This might seem like a frivolous issue when compared with sexual abuse and issues like that, but it is, in fact, a very important area. Targeting children in this way amounts, in my view, to a violation of their rights. Instead of targeting them, advertisers and marketers should be using the software and technology that is available to prevent such advertising being accessed by children. Do the delegates have any comments on the legality of potential solutions to this problem? We do not want to become too much of a nanny state but children are very vulnerable and impressionable and they are being marketed to in very clever ways.