Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill and the Digital Services Act, DSA, are complementary pieces of legislation. One of the key drivers of the Bill is the implementation of the revised audiovisual media services directive, AMSD, into Irish law. The implementation of the directive in respect of online services, specifically video-sharing platform services, is provided for under the regulatory framework for online safety in this Bill. In this regard, the AMSD is explicitly recognised by the DSA as a distinct and complementary law to the proposed regulation. In relation to the regulation of other online services, the Bill provides for a regulatory framework for online safety that is designed to be adaptable and responsive to changes in Irish and EU law. It is clear that further legislation, in addition to this Bill, will be necessary to ensure appropriate alignment of our regulatory systems with the proposed regulation, for both coimisiún na meán and other regulators.

I note that the European Parliament held its final vote approving the DSA last Tuesday, 5 July. This paves the way for formal adoption by the Council in September of this year. Ireland will have until 1 January 2024 to ensure that provisions of the DSA are provided for and supported by Irish law where necessary. Of course, the obligations on very large online platforms and very large online search engines, which will be regulated by the European Commission, will apply earlier - four months after they have been designated as such by the Commission. The Government has already decided that coimisiún na meán, which is to be established through this Bill, will act as the primary regulator or digital services co-ordinator, DSC, under the DSA. The Government made this decision in light of the clear synergies between the objectives and approaches of coimisiún na meán and the DSC, including taking a systemic approach to dealing with online safety and platform regulation and similar resourcing needs and expertise for implementation and enforcement.

As I said stated on Committee Stage, in establishing an coimisiún and setting out a regulatory framework for online safety and a robust and fair enforcement and investigation mechanism, this Bill is establishing the scaffolding and structures to support future and forthcoming legislation, including the Digital Services Act. In this regard, the Bill will assist in the implementation of the regulation and not hinder it. Accordingly, I do not accept this amendment. Having listened to the Senator's contribution, it may be worth pointing out that private messaging services are not covered by the DSA.