Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Coimisiún na Meán obviously recognises that recommender systems can have significant harmful impacts on users, especially children. Under its online safety framework, an coimisiún will be best able to tackle the potential dangers of recommender systems through the implementation of the Digital Services Act. Under this EU regulation, very large online platforms and search engines must complete risk assessments in respect of the exposure of children and young people to illegal and harmful online content, including through algorithms or recommender systems. These services must address the risk of exposure, including by means of age verification or through the adjustment of the design of the recommender systems.

The European Commission enforces the Digital Services Act in respect of these larger services, with the support of an EU network of digital service co-ordinators. It has already opened a number of investigations, including into TikTok and Meta, regarding their recommender systems and impact on children and young people. An coimisiún is supporting the work of the European Commission in its investigations as the digital services co-ordinator in Ireland.

A significant milestone in online safety and how we deal with this, as Deputy Smith mentioned in his original question, is the adoption of online safety codes. I expect Coimisiún na Meán to adopt those codes by the end of next month.

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