Results 4,921-4,940 of 6,389 for speaker:James Lawless

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Session 2: Industry Perspective (7 Nov 2019)

James Lawless: If I understand the position correctly, Libra may assist in concealing some of the issues that have just been discussed. I will move on. Is it the case that, essentially, the only way for political messages to get across on Facebook is by advertising? The algorithms were changed about two years ago because there was a growth of negative news or, to an extent, spam on Facebook. My...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Session 2: Industry Perspective (7 Nov 2019)

James Lawless: Two allegations have been made against Facebook. One is that it promotes addictive behaviours in order to keep users on the platform. The second is that it has exploited its dominant position in some ways. An example that brings those two behaviours together is Facebook's advocacy for video content in recent years. I am told that the statistics for video content supplied by Facebook...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Session 2: Industry Perspective (7 Nov 2019)

James Lawless: Dr. Bickert might come back to me on that. I have a final question. What percentage of Facebook's moderation team globally is made up of company employees and what percentage is made up of outside contractors?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Session 2: Industry Perspective (7 Nov 2019)

James Lawless: Approximately.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Session 2: Industry Perspective (7 Nov 2019)

James Lawless: They are not subject to the same conditions. I have met some of them in Ireland and elsewhere, and I have read the stories. They are certainly not subject to the same conditions. There have been many stories about the harshness, the pay inequality, the difficult conditions they work in and the psychological trauma and mental health issues that have arisen afterwards. They may be subject...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Session 2: Industry Perspective (7 Nov 2019)

James Lawless: My next question is to Google and I am going to keep it tight.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Session 2: Industry Perspective (7 Nov 2019)

James Lawless: Yes. I understand that Google is a search engine and it performs as a directory but I also understand that any content, illegal or otherwise can be retrieved by the search engine because Google's view is that it is a directory. I was perturbed by this when I met Google recently, that it applies to disturbing content, freedom of speech, violent and pornographic content and illegal content....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Session 3: The State of Play in Regulation (7 Nov 2019)

James Lawless: I will be as succinct as possible. I have two questions, one for the Minister, Deputy Bruton, on the Irish environment and the new proposals, and one for the panel as a whole on regulatory enforcement. I welcomed the announcements this week and the Minister alluded to a number of other proposed measures. I look forward to reviewing the details of those when they are published. One of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Session 3: The State of Play in Regulation (7 Nov 2019)

James Lawless: The Minister mentioned the Digital Safety Commissioner Bill 2017. Does the same logic apply to the Online Advertising and Social Media (Transparency) Bill 2017? Is the Minister referring to both Bills?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Session 3: The State of Play in Regulation (7 Nov 2019)

James Lawless: I thank the Minister. I have a brief question for the panel. We are attempting to formulate regulation and legislation and while some countries have had more success than others in that regard, we are all moving in that direction. However, enforcement is the key to legislation and regulatory activity in any sphere. The Data Protection Commissioner has had some success in enforcement and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Session 4: International Collaboration (7 Nov 2019)

James Lawless: Can I ask Mr. Lovett - although I am interested in all views on this - about another old chestnut which is the question of net neutrality, and how we enforce this? How do we aspire to it? This is dual-layered because even if we manage our service providers, and legislate that service providers cannot boost or block particular types or sources of content, social media platforms are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Session 5: Future Collaboration (7 Nov 2019)

James Lawless: I drafted that part of the principles. The thinking behind it is to include this ticker. How we do it is immaterial but it is to include a transparency or disclosure notice such that all of these political advertisements have a ticker tape running beside or under them where the user can click to see who brought it to them, who sponsored it, and who funded it. That gets around many of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Session 5: Future Collaboration (7 Nov 2019)

James Lawless: On another output from the committee, it is important that when we leave here today we have some framework agreed among us for further follow-up actions. We had a discussion earlier with some of the panellists about this, but I am not sure if we reached any definitive conclusion. In the absence of an external framework, the grand committee retains the mantle and it falls on us as...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Water Quality (6 Nov 2019)

James Lawless: 215. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the measures being taken to reassure the public that water is appropriately treated and fit for consumption at both the Leixlip and Ballymore Eustace water plants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45595/19]

Illegal Drugs: Motion [Private Members] (5 Nov 2019)

James Lawless: I want to add to the words already spoken by my colleagues and I commend Deputy John Curran on bringing this motion forward. It is a very important motion, as highlighted last weekend by nine former Ministers of State who had responsibility for drugs and who called for urgent and further action on this scourge, which all Members see in their communities. While it is very much an urban issue...

Blasphemy (Abolition of Offences and Related Matters) Bill 2019: Second Stage (5 Nov 2019)

James Lawless: I will be sharing time with colleagues. I commend the Minister's contribution. It was an interesting tour of jurisprudence on the issue of blasphemy, how it came into being, its position in Bunreacht na hÉireann and the small degree of case law which has prevailed on the article and, more recently, the offence in the past number of years. As the Minister outlined, very few cases ever...

Criminal Justice (Mutual Recognition of Decisions on Supervision Measures) Bill 2019 [Seanad]: Second Stage (5 Nov 2019)

James Lawless: I will make just a brief comment. As my colleague Deputy O'Callaghan said, Fianna Fáil supports the Bill and welcomes its introduction to and passage through the House. It is worth briefly considering other international frameworks, in particular the Magnitsky Act. Bill Browder visited Leinster House earlier this year. While the Magnitsky Act provides for a different type of framework...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (5 Nov 2019)

James Lawless: 1077. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the case of a person (details supplied) will be investigated; and if the person will be assisted in locating their contributions. [44965/19]

Public Ownership of the National Broadband Network: Motion [Private Members] (23 Oct 2019)

James Lawless: There is a sense of déjà vuabout the debate. In the short time during which I have been a Deputy, we have had numerous discussions on the matter. Since 2011, when the previous Fine Gael-led Government assumed office, the first promise was made, and here we are almost in 2020. Two themes have emerged. The bill keeps multiplying but not a scrap of fibre has been laid under the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (16 Oct 2019)

James Lawless: 113. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if maps of the current school planning areas are available; and if a copy is available for use by schools. [42477/19]