Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I call on the Tánaiste to discuss Ireland's role in the upcoming Summit for the Future. In September, the UN implemented the UN Pact for the Future and it is expected to be signed by participating countries next month. Action 18 is an innocuously titled "Building and Sustaining Peace". In reality, it calls on member states to censor their populations. Action 18 calls on nations to address the risks to sustaining peace posed by disinformation, misinformation, hate speech and content inciting harm, including content disseminated through digital platforms, in accordance with international law, domestic legislation and national policies. This is hate speech legislation by another name.

The global digital compact contained in Annex 1 of the pact calls on all digital technology companies and social media platforms to enhance the transparency and accountability of their systems and calls on all our digital technology companies and developers to continue to develop solutions that publicly communicate actions to counter potential harms, including hate speech.

Ireland has now a central role in online censorship through Coimisiún na Meán and its enforcement through the Digital Services Act, DSA. It is important for us to know the nature of the pact and the international laws that we are signing up to, especially where censorship is a facet of these agreements. Ireland is well positioned to be a global censor of online content. This should worry anyone who cares about freedom of speech, liberty and democracy. The language referring to peace and security in this pact is a mask for censorship. What else is hidden in the carefully selected language of this pact?

The transformation of global governments and international peace and security agreements in the pact should be discussed in order for the public to understand the depth of this agreement and its consequences for Ireland. I would therefore like a debate on the role of the citizens with regard to the Minister rocking up to international bodies and signing documents on our behalf.