Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank and commend Senator Lorraine Higgins, and Senators Bacik and Whelan, on bringing this Bill before the Seanad.

There is a strong imperative, as Senators have been saying, to ensure that our legislation is fit for purpose and keeps up with the pace in terms of the challenges of technology and new media. Indeed, there are implications for many pieces of legislation posed by the developments that we are discussing here this evening.

The last decade has seen rapid development of many new forms of technology and digital media. This has been matched only by the rapid increase in the use of social media by all sectors of society, the young and the not-so-young. New forms of digital and social media bring with them many exciting opportunities that must be harnessed. Anybody here would be in no doubt about that. New capabilities exist to share news and information with thousands, millions or billions, which, in turn, can educate and enrich our knowledge and awareness. It can promote transparency. It can break down barriers. Instantaneous messaging has made the world much smaller. Grandparents in Ireland can now talk to and see grandchildren on the other side of the world in real time. I have no doubt that instant messaging has also saved many lives by allowing speedy reporting of accidents and health risks. New technology can support how we work, do business and innovate. I have stated previously that the budding child entrepreneurs of today are more likely to be writing code and designing apps than, as may have happened in the past, selling lemonade or penny apples.

However, with opportunities come challenges. Of course, those challenges and the risks of new technology are what we are discussing here this evening. Clearly, there are risks, and Senators have already discussed quite a few of them. First, regrettably, the online world has provided a new arena of opportunity for those who seek to engage in sexual exploitation and the grooming of children. It is quite horrifying to see the videos that predators, paedophiles and international criminal gangs will exchange in real time of children being abused. We see this internationally. No country is immune from it. It certainly is challenging for our police and intelligence forces to deal with that. Online sexual exploitation is an abhorrent but very real risk facing children. It is for this reason that I will shortly introduce the criminal justice (sexual offences) Bill, which will include new offences and tough new sanctions for any predatory sexual activity which seeks to target children online, such as through social media.

Second, it would seem that the traditional boundary lines of personal privacy have become greatly blurred by the growing phenomenon of over-sharing of personal information and photos on social media. I support the calls for better information and education and the work that we need to do, particularly with young people. Policing forces internationally will tell on that many of the images that children themselves put up go on to be used in child pornography, and of course those images are up there for a long periods. The risks pile up as people share this kind of private information, such as photos. Some of the longer-term implications of over-sharing, particularly in terms of privacy and data protection law, are only now beginning to be explored. No doubt this is an area to which we will return in the Seanad in relation to all of these issues and the various boundaries. Senator Byrne made a relevant point about the sort of boundary that needs to be observed, such as the right of people to express themselves and the right to privacy, and just where one sets the boundaries in that regard. We must not move to a situation of censorship or not allowing people free speech, and Senator Higgins made that clear in her speech.

Third, just as traditional forms of communication allowed some people to express abusive messages, new means of communication can afford them amplified and anonymous means of cyberbullying and cyber harassment. We have all had experiences of individual children whom we know who have been abused in this way. The word "abuse" is the right one. It took us a long time to recognise physical and sexual abuse as it exists. We are now being called to recognise these new forms of abuse that are prevalent and can be life-threatening. That is the reality.

There are a number of background matters that I want to mention briefly. The report of the Internet content governance advisory group, which was published in June 2014, is being implemented. In my Department, there is an office for Internet safety, OIS, with four partner organisations, a dedicated website which contains information and links on internet safety, and various booklets that have been made available.

The Garda also launched a new initiative, which I bring to the attention of Senators, under which a memorandum of understanding has been agreed with the internet service provider UPC. This was a first. There is room for more of this kind of work between the Garda and Internet service providers.

For the information of the House, I recently hosted a meeting with the chief Internet service providers in Farmleigh in Dublin to discuss the exploitation of children and the broader issue of access to material online that is criminal. The videos or photographs online to which we refer are effectively crime scenes-----