Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I also hope these provisions address the issues the Minister outlined. I do not dispute anything he said, including the argument that politicians should have thick skins. I endeavour to live up to those standards daily. I am a passionate advocate of freedom of speech. I believe it is essential in a functioning democracy that people can feel to say things - even nasty things or critical things - about politicians or others in power, particularly those in power.

There is a distinction between free speech and anonymous speech whereby somebody can hide behind a computer and not have the guts to reveal himself or herself when he or she publishes what can be abhorrent material about a person or entity with no consequences. In that vein, I mean it when I say that I hope that the provisions outlined by the Minister do their stated job. It is a high bar for a lot of people who might find themselves in that position. As the Minister said, there has been an evolution of defamatory comment. Due to the multitudes of mediums by which people can publish assertions, it is probably people who do not have access to a solicitor or recourse to or understanding of the law who are likely to become victims in all of this. I hope that we will reach a point where not only will this mechanism work but the fact that the mechanism is there will give social media companies the freedom to divulge the information early on when it is requested by people seeking to find out who is behind these anonymous accounts that in many cases are causing significant societal destruction in terms of the malicious agendas they pursue. This is notwithstanding everything I have said about the right to free speech. I believe in it passionately but if somebody wants freedom of speech, he or she should also avail of the freedom to reveal himself or herself and have the guts to stand over what it is he or she wants to say.

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