Vincent P Martin (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus roimh an Bille seo. The legislation proposed must be one of the most complex and hugely important to come to the Houses. Today marks a milestone in its progress.. We are now another step closer to finalising this groundbreaking legislation.

The full establishment of Coimisiún na Meán, setting up a new regulatory body that will oversee a more streamlined and effective regulation of audiovisual media content, in addition to the important appointment of the online safety commissioner, will bring an end to the era of self-regulation of the social media giants that have established headquarters in Ireland under our jurisdiction.

The eyes of Europe and, indeed, the rest of the world are upon us as legislators. There is much at stake and the Minister and her officials must be commended on the prioritised emphasis she and they have placed on drafting a Bill that is so far-reaching in its scale and ambition. The Government of this day ought to be commended too on supporting the need for this initiative.

Undoubtedly, once enacted, the Bill will be very impactful. I welcome the extent of the pre-legislative scrutiny that colleagues undertook at the Oireachtas committee. I welcome the Minister's acceptance of the majority of their recommendations within the report. It is a good example of the vital work Members of the Oireachtas do; often away from the glare of publicity. They go through legislation word for word, line by line. At times, I regret that it can be used as a box-ticking exercise but one cannot say that in respect of this Bill, the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021 and many others.I hope in the months and years to come we will fully value the role of pre-legislative scrutiny. I acknowledge some areas are still under consideration by the Minister, in particular the establishment of the working group on an individual complaints mechanism. Public confidence and trust, which are hugely lacking in the current self-regulatory framework will be essential within this consideration. Many concerned stakeholders are waiting for years, more than a decade. I am delighted the Minister, the Department and the Government are moving ahead, as they are today.

The technical and operational challenges to individual complaints should be acknowledged. A potential reach of more than 450 million people across Europe is a vast user base. It is difficult to comprehend how the Irish regulator might handle such a structure and potential workload, but if there is a way to allow for a process whereby individual complaints can be reviewed, then it would be prudent of the Minister to take time for further analysis of this issue. I welcome her decision to expedite the work of the group to just 90 days. I acknowledge that any solutions presented must be legally robust. I look forward to hearing the recommendations in the coming weeks.

Our children and their safety are the driving force and momentum for all of us when considering the Bill. Evidence, both data-driven and anecdotal, tell us that children are at daily risk of exposure to many types of harmful online material, from criminal harms to other harms such as bullying, harassment, exploitation and content that promotes suicide or eating disorders. The tech companies make vast sums of money through their products and parents cannot be expected to be singlehandedly responsible and accountable for supervising their children at all times from accessing these platforms whose tentacles reach into almost every aspect of our everyday lives.

I welcome the online safety code framework established by the coimisiún. It will ensure that services take appropriate systemic measures to reduce the availability of harmful online content, including cyberbullying. At long last, the tech companies will be held to tangible account. The online services will be forced to respond to and robustly deal with complaints when they are made.

I recognise that both society and business welcome the important development of this Bill. Technology companies, many of whom are established in Ireland and have had great positive impact on our lives and have made a contribution to the economy, and employ thousands, will also play their part in putting the legislation into action in its implementation or, if they do not, face unprecedented, tough sanctions from the coimisiún.

It should be acknowledged that there is a widespread problem with the availability of illegal and harmful content on widely used online services and it is clear that self-regulation is not working. Today heralds the start of the journey to end the era of self-regulation. The days of self-regulation are numbered. They have failed us and our children.

I welcome the Minister's work on the Bill in transposing the audiovisual media service directive, which places the focus of media regulation on both broadcasters and streaming services. How audiences consume content at home and on mobile devices has changed dramatically. I welcome this legislation which moves to adopt structures to recognise the need for expanded oversight.

As a firm believer in the power of democracy, disinformation is one of the defining issues of our time. The spread and amplification of disinformation by social media in global politics is creating a demand for alternative narratives. The influence of fake news has become an acute threat to democratic societies. Why has the Bill not addressed this key issue? Does the Minister have a process in place to tackle this once the online safety commissioner is in situ? The impact of this legislation is to be felt right across the spectrum of society which interacts so frequently with audiovisual content and social media. It is recognised that further legislation will be required in order to keep pace with the changing landscape of media and technology, but it is vitally important for us to get the foundation right. The development of this Bill has, understandably, been complex and challenging. It is evident from the physical weight of the Bill that it is a mammoth project. It contains much detail. It should be recognised that Ireland is paving the way for the rest of the world. The Bill will benefit from its journey through both Houses of the Oireachtas. I look forward to actively partaking in the journey in the Upper House. The days of self-regulation are numbered and I unequivocally welcome that.