Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join Senator Leyden in calling for a debate on motor insurance. I heard a victim of cyber harassment on the radio, which colleagues may also have heard. I was shocked to hear how the young woman endured an outrageous violation of her privacy when explicit pictures and a video were posted online by a disgruntled ex-boyfriend. She was completely unaware that she was being filmed and that the film was online until somebody pointed it out to her.

Currently, the investigation and prosecution of this type of activity is very poorly provided for under Irish law. This leaves gardaí with limited scope to act in such circumstances. Irish legislation is very strong, thankfully, for child victims, especially regarding the distribution of child sexual images. However, protections are far weaker for adults who have been seriously victimised on social media or online, including being depicted in intimate private photographs and videos. Last year, the United Kingdom passed legislation making it illegal to disclose a private sexual photograph or film without the consent of the person depicted. In the USA, 34 states currently have revenge porn laws, while Australia and New Zealand have also recently introduced state laws criminalising it. Recent amendments to the 1951 Post Office (Amendment) Act, which criminalises the use of a phone for harassment purposes, include text messages sent by phone. However, it is unclear if suspect activity on social media conducted online via a smartphone would be covered by this legislation, and because of the lack of prosecutions, there is no case law. The fact that there is no legal deterrent in this country for anyone who wishes to violate a person's privacy in the most explicit way is totally unacceptable. I am now calling for the introduction of legislation in line with that recently introduced in the UK to provide adequate protection for adults from the scourge of cyber harassment and revenge porn. This affects women, men and teenagers and should be taken more seriously.