Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I would join in thanking the Irish Heart Foundation, the Children's Rights Alliance and the many groups that have advocated on this set of amendments as one of the core areas of amendment to the Bill. I also want to thank the individuals who have contacted us with their concerns on the online targeting of children and the kinds of content to which children are being exposed and targeted. The fact that the Minister can see amendments in this grouping from Sinn Féin, the Civic Engagement Group, the Labour Party and many others shows that these concerns are common. I urge the Minister to engage in the context of the fact that there is value in the different proposals that have been put forward. The clear and general signal is that in the media service codes there was some acknowledgement of that public health component in respect of children and they acknowledged that the online codes should similarly have some form of recognition. Amendments Nos. 172 and 173 are minimalist in nature. They simply seek to recognise the public health interests of children. There is the other suite of issues that have been identified.

I will highlight two things that are not in my amendment in this grouping but that are valuable. If the Minister is coming back with her own proposal, I would be open to all of these issues being dealt with in that.There is recognition in Senator Black's proposal of commercial communications in gambling that target children. That is an issue that goes from the loot box we talked about in this House to other areas where gambling is targeted at children. Very young people can be exposed very quickly to gambling. That is a very important example. Senators have tabled amendments on trans-fatty acid, sugars and salts and it is mentioned in the original Bill, which is a clear sign the Minister recognises their dangers. The other issue is gambling and the fact that it affects children.

The Labour group has spoken at length, and I will not prolong it, about recognising that milk-based formula and follow-on milks aimed at young children is something that is a public health concern. They include that in the definition of public health concern. Whatever changes we come to on Report Stage, in terms of recognising this issue, I hope it will be reflected in the online codes as well as the media service codes given what I highlighted earlier, that some of the areas of code are about online service providers, such as baby clubs, targeted messages, the expert-mum forum pop-ups people are invited to.

Senator Ruane and I put forward amendment No. 183 in this section. What is important about this amendment, and I urge that it be listened to, is that it does not just speak to online content. It speaks to the fact that online safety codes should provide for restrictions on the use of personal data of children for profiling, micro-targeting, or direct marketing. This is about the recommender system and data gathering. It is about providing data for one purpose. Senator Black outlined the extent to which parents have had to rely on online educational resources during a significant period of online home education for example. Any such material that targets children should not store information in respect of the children's ages. If people want to access education materials through an online education provider, and they have children of this age and that age in the house, they should not receive advertisements based on the children's age. That should not be the case and it should not be allowed.

I emphasise this issue because I am very frustrated by it. It was identified as a key issue in 2018. We had the agreement of all parties to put it into the Data Protection Act. It was not commenced because there was a concern about the wording, but it has never been addressed. It has been four years since then and of the information we learn about the online targeting and profiling of children and how their information is used, there has been no comforting information. The issue has only worsened. We constantly hear of news scandals about the harvesting of information and so forth, and this issue still has not been addressed. That is why we push to have measures put into legislation because if they are not included and strongly committed to, they may not happen.

I ask that the Minister take on board the minimalist point on public health, the points everybody is making about high-fat and salty foods, the points on gambling, on breast milk substitutes, and on alcohol. Alcohol is being targeted at children, effectively and indirectly, which was acknowledged by Senator Carrigy. It is not just a question of the content but how it is reaching children. The Minister has some concrete solid proposals that could, through this Bill, set an agenda for online safety codes. If the commission were given a signal politically, from us, through this legislation, that these are areas we expect it to work on, it would be incredibly positive and it would set an agenda.

The Minister mentioned that the purpose of this Bill is the delegation of powers. The purpose is not the delegation of powers. The purpose of this Bill is media and online regulation. We are entrusting some of that to be delivered by a commission that will be established. It is absolutely within the rights of the Legislature and the Government to send signals to the commission as to how we want that done. We are not giving them full discretion in that regard. We are giving them the responsibilities and duties and we should be sending the signal as to the areas we expect to be addressed. That does not exclude the commission from identifying other areas that we have not thought of. If these areas are heard as common concerns from across society and the House, they should be put on the agenda for online safety.