Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this legislation and the transposition of the audiovisual and media services directive. I was involved in the negotiation of that directive, which also contains measures to protect children. The Minister is to be commended on securing the commitment to appoint an online safety commissioner. It was clear to me, prior to any of the controversies, that this was urgently needed in this country.

I had hoped to do it back in 2018 but due to circumstances outside my control, that did not happen. It must be properly resourced and there must be a mechanism in place allowing people to have their rights enforced. I can give a practical example. A study by The Journalof 70 posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in July last year that were reported by the HSE to the industry regarding misleading information relating to Covid-19 indicated that six weeks later, 53 of the posts had not been taken down.

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