Kate O'Connell (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann shall consider the Report of the Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs entitled, Report on Cyber Security for Children and Young Adults, copies of which were laid before Dáil Éireann on 28th March 2018.

The report on cyber security for children and young adults produced by the Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs is important in tackling an issue which is becoming ever more challenging for younger generations and increasingly worrisome for parents and guardians. On behalf of the Chairman, my colleague, Deputy Alan Farrell, I thank the members of the committee for the work they put into producing the report and their careful consideration throughout the extensive hearings on the matter. I also thank every delegate who provided testimony for the committee and each individual and organisation that made a submission on the topic of cyber safety for children and young people. It is important that the Government act on the recommendations made by the committee. They will protect young people, while also acknowledging the benefits of the Internet and social media, particularly in the context of education and communicating with family and friends.

Reviewing the work of the committee on the topic, the contributions which really stood out were those of students from Newbridge College and representatives from Comhairle na nÓg in counties Clare and Wicklow. That the committee used the opportunity to hear first-hand the concerns and experiences of young people was positive. Of the challenges faced by young people, sexting, over-sharing online, cyberbullying and the danger of connecting with strangers online are of particular concern.

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As a society, we cannot put our heads in the sand and pretend these things are not happening. As legislators we have a responsibility to lead by example, to acknowledge the reality our young people are facing online, to have an open and frank discussion about it and to work to ensure children and teenagers are fully aware of the dangers they may be exposed to and the supports available to them in this regard. One student from Newbridge College discussed the sharing of intimate images online in her contribution. She stated:

It is very much a taboo subject, which people shy away from discussing, but it must be addressed. Many of the teenagers engaging in these activities are not informed of the dangers or the legalities relating to the sharing of intimate images.

This student went on to say:

I believe this issue is getting out of control and becoming a popular trend due to the lack of education and information provided to young people. We can help prevent and tackle this by raising awareness and being taught the dangers of sexting in school as part of the social, personal and health education, SPHE, curriculum or the relationships and sexuality education, RSE, module.

This one contribution highlights the importance with which teenagers view the need the act on social media dangers. It shows a level of understanding and awareness that may be somewhat lacking in those in our society who may be less au faitwith social media and with new messaging apps, which are being used by children, teenagers and young people today. It also shows the need to make sure every individual is aware of the right to be forgotten, which is referenced in the report before the House. In tackling the concerns of our young people, we must first remove the taboo with which matters such as sexting are often treated and ensure social media companies strengthen their safety policies to protect their users, especially when they are minors. It is for this reason the report of the Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs on cybersafety is so timely and important and must be acted upon by Government.

We cannot deny that our young people are, in many ways, leading when it comes to addressing concerns in the area of cybersafety. At the same hearing of the committee, a representative of Clare Comhairle na nÓg outlined the action it had taken in terms of being proactive and working to provide its members' peers with the knowledge and education they deserve. This young person outlined the work of Clare Comhairle na nÓg saying:

Changes in technology, in particular the availability of broadband and cheaper smartphones with data bundles, have changed the cyber landscape in recent years. In response to young people looking for some direction and education in this rapidly changing environment, we made links with McAfee which had developed a cybersafety programme as part of its corporate social responsibility, CSR, project. The programme was piloted with 49 young people at the 2015 comhairle AGM and the results were fed back to McAfee. Clare youth service decided to deliver this programme with funding from the Clare local development company, and during 2016 and 2017, 752 young people, mainly first years, took part in the programme in schools across Clare. McAfee has adapted the programme according to the feedback from the young people involved.

With regard to the committee’s report itself, broadly speaking, the recommendations encompass a number of policy areas and have the potential to be particularly effective, not only in addressing the challenges posed by social media and the online world, but also in educating and encouraging our society in general regarding the responsible use of the internet.

Focusing on the area of education, with recommendations that include peer-to-peer workshops in schools, the inclusion of cybersafety programmes in the curriculum and in teacher training courses and the appointment of teachers as digital safety ambassadors, this report provides a guideline on how we can best build upon and complement existing initiatives in a number of our schools. The initiative to involve young people in the delivery of education and awareness evenings for parents and guardians on this topic would also be worthwhile. Gone are the days when adults could impose their views or impose restrictions on young people. Instead we must fully include children, teenagers and young adults in all measures to ensure they are safe online. I commend the committee on taking on board the importance of utilising such an approach.

As pointed out in the committee report, the implementation of the remaining recommendations as set out in the report of the Internet content governance advisory group of 2014, the establishment of the office of a digital safety commissioner and the introduction of a national strategy on children’s cybersafety must be prioritised by Government. The establishment of an advisory task force on the protection of children and young people online must also be progressed by Government. I note that the recommendation on the digital age of consent has been addressed within the Data Protection Act 2018. However, we await the legislative changes recommended in the report in line with the Law Reform Commission’s report on harmful communication and digital safety; particularly that section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 should be repealed and replaced with a new offence of harassment.

A new provision of harassment must, in this context, expressly apply to harassment through all forms of communication including digital and online communications. It is an unfortunate reality, as I am sure many members of this House will agree, that the majority of harassment now takes place online. While we, as Members of the House, have become used to such harassment at times, the fact remains that people not in the public sphere, and young people in particular, may not be as prepared to deal with such harassment or abuse as we may be. Therefore, the laws of this State must reflect this reality, and as such, this legislative change must be made.

Separate to this offence, and also in line with the Law Reform Commission’s recommendations, a specific stalking offence should be introduced. Furthermore, section 1 of the Post Office (Amendment) Act 1951 must be repealed and replaced with provisions making the distribution of threatening, false, indecent or obscene messages an offence, whether they are to a person or about a person. In addition, the distribution of intimate images without the consent of the person depicted in such images must be made an offence. This also is a recommendation of the Law Reform Commission’s report. The fact that the Law Reform Commission made these recommendations and that the Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs has now highlighted the importance of these legislative changes must act as a catalyst for the Government to take action urgently.

As legislators, we have a responsibility to ensure every individual in this State, and particularly some of the more vulnerable members of our society, including our children and young adults, receive the levels of legal protection they need. Unfortunately, at this time, we cannot say we have adequately done this with regard to cybersafety. Our society is becoming increasingly dependent on technology in every aspect whether it is in education, in work, or in communicating with one another generally. Our laws must now catch up. Failure to adequately implement the recommendations of the committee’s report on cybersafety for children and young people would be to fail our children, our young people and our society in general in terms of providing every citizen with the levels of online security and protection they require.

Again, I wish to thank all of the members of the committee and those who provided testimony and submission to the committee for their work and consideration of this topic. I commend this report to the House and look forward to the detailed scrutiny of this report by Cabinet given the multidepartmental scope of the recommendations.

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