Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I note that in the discussions we have had, including discussions with the Minister's officials, regarding content, whether that is harmful content or other age-inappropriate types of content, those conversations have not simply been around the content but also concerned the manner of content delivery. This is why what I am seeking to provide here, in the context of a possible situation where age-inappropriate content is inappropriately being made available to those aged below an appropriate age, is that during an investigation it should be possible to issue a limitation notice to prevent age-inappropriate content being made available or delivered to those of an inappropriate age. This is what I am trying to get at with this amendment. If we have decided that where there is harmful content an coimisiún should be able to order that such material would be limited and not be made available, then if we also have other situations where there is delivery of harmful content to minors and children, an coimisiún should equally be able to indicate that that is happening.

This is an amendment the Minister should consider. I refer to the possibility of situations arising where inappropriate content is being targeted at children. The Minister is aware that I intend to try to strengthen the section on age-inappropriate content later on Report Stage and this is why I might not press it now. If this age-inappropriate section is strengthened, it could then be a mechanism that would deal with many of the concerns raised by the public. It should also be possible to strengthen the powers of the commission concerning where such content is being targeted. For example, and this is the last one I will give, one of the explicit concerns raised with me is the question of educational online videos. Families have all used these because they were teaching children at home and they effectively have content directly targeted towards children. Basically, we have online educational materials that families are using and then the profiles of those families, including those of the children, have been used as the basis for targeting commercial materials that are inappropriate for children. In that context, this is what I am trying to get at with my amendment. I wish to be clear this is what I am trying to get at with this amendment, in case it might help.