Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We accept that most children will get around the age verification step easily. We should not set up a system which will encourage kids to lie. It will simply encourage them to hide their online activity from their parents and not seek help and support. It will undermine the ability of parents to engage with their children on their online activity to teach them critical thinking skills in the digital world. A 2015 report, Net Children Go Mobile, found that 40% of children in Ireland under 11 and 12 years of age had a social networking account, despite the fact that social networking sites had an age restriction of 13 years. We already have age restrictions that do not work and this will only create a false impression of safety online.

If the digital age of consent is set at 16 years, online platforms will be able to argue that their spaces are for older teenagers and adults and simply reduce their protections accordingly. We can create a digital safety programme through education, as suggested by the ISPCC, the Ombudsman for Children and others, through the establishment of an office of digital safety commissioner with statutory powers to regulate and educate about the online space. As the director of the National Youth Council of Ireland, Ms Mary Cunningham, said a few days ago, learning to cross the road is far more useful than hoping for a ban on cars. In the same way, education and a focus on developing critical thinking will be far more useful tools for young people and the adults in their lives than an increased digital age of consent which risks providing a false sense of security.

The justice committee heard from many experts in the area. Its Chairman, Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, fully agrees with the digital age of consent being set at 13 years. I do not believe for one second that Deputy Jim O’Callaghan does not either. This is madness.

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