Michael Lowry (Tipperary North, Independent)

We have all read of the heartache endured by a mother in Cork last week as she witnessed people callously filming her son's final moments. I extend sympathy to this woman and her family at this sad and extremely difficult time. Unfortunately, this mother is not the first to feel such horror. Families right across the country have also been subjected to similar pitiful actions. It has become common for people to record tragic events for the sole purpose of sharing or threatening to share them on social media. Victims of road tragedies, injured persons, those suffering shock and distress, and people crying for help have all had their anguish and fear reduced to public online spectacle. Misfortunes are reduced to grotesque entertainment. Emergency responders have frequently spoken out about the heartless behaviour of onlookers who turn tragedy into a clickbait opportunity.

It is not only incidents like this that find their way into the public domain. Violent brawls, racist attacks, abusive actions and bullying are also considered fair game for recording. Blackmail is commonly used to threaten the victims, who live in fear of the content being made public or being sent to families or authorities. The grief and torment that these threats can cause is incalculable. Many victims are blackmailed for money. Others are coerced into illegal or unsavoury actions in order to buy the silence of their tormentors. Either way, the holder of the recording holds the trump card and the victim is rendered powerless to escape his or her clutches.

The harsh reality is that, nowadays, absolutely nothing is deemed off-limits. The sheer power of social media has destroyed social conscience. More and more, it is responsible for wiping out respect and basic human values. Insulting, offensive, humiliating and degrading commentary is now the norm. This is mainly triggered by anonymous keyboard cowards. It is a malaise that is going unchecked. What kind of warped mentality leads to the posting of deliberately malicious and vicious tirades against defenceless people?

The ferocity and intensity of hateful comments must be acted against. Social media has become the scourge of our times. It is a 24-7 presence and it is saturating the minds of people of all ages. It is destroying lives and we seem powerless to stop it. Our impressionable young people who are growing up in a world that is dominated by social media are being bombarded by inappropriate content that is becoming more easily accessible. Coimisiún na Meán has a much-welcomed online safety code which is designed to ensure that social media platforms put in place measures to prevent uploading and sharing of harmful content. Will the Minister outline the brief of Coimisiún na Meán?

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