Lynn Ruane (Independent)

Where a person feels that materials published by television and radio broadcasters, newspapers, online platforms, and video-on-demand or streaming services contravene codes of practice in Ireland, for example, where concerns regarding the impartiality of news and current affairs coverage exist or where material is circulated that might cause harm or offence, a statutory complaint can be made directly to the broadcaster, the broadcaster's regulator or the Press Council.

The Acts that underpin Coimisiún na Meán and provide for the regulation of broadcasting, including the codes and rules applicable to both traditional broadcasting and on-demand services, are the broadcasting and other media regulation Acts of 2009 and 2022, principally the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022, which amended the parent Broadcasting Act to a significant extent. The ultimate purpose of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act was to respond to the shifting landscape of media and content consumption in Ireland and to introduce new rules and safeguards for consumers to ensure that regulation that had historically been applied to traditional broadcasting media would then apply to media available online.

However, this has come up as an issue in terms of complaints. In April 2025, for example, a research group from Pals for Palestine, an apolitical collective of activists who organise in pursuit of human rights in Palestine, submitted a complaint to RTÉ under the broadcasting and other media regulation Acts in respect of biased reporting by RTÉ. I am not here to make an assessment of whether the complaint would stand up, but the fact is that the complaint actually could not be followed through. The research undertaken by Pals for Palestine uncovered a pattern in online reporting by RTÉ that demonstrated a positive bias towards Israeli detainees compared to Palestinian detainees.The reporting that was online positively humanised, at 82% versus 18%, and personalised, at 100% versus 45%, the Israeli detainees more frequently than their Palestinian counterparts; referred to their well-being more often, at 64% versus 27%; prioritised them in the news stories more consistently, at 82% versus 18%; and on occasion speaking to their sociopolitical context, at 100% versus 9%.

This group felt there was a need for a complaint to be assessed to see if there was bias towards the reporting of Israeli detainees versus Palestinian detainees. Upon receipt, RTÉ argued that as the complaint related to online news stories published on rte.ie, it fell outside the scope of the statutory complaints process provided for in the Broadcasting Act. While refusing to formally investigate the complaint, RTÉ stood by its reporting and suggested the complaints were making generalised assertions. After the refusal by RTÉ to hear the complaint, Pals for Palestine submitted a complaint to Coimisiún na Meán, which was also rejected on the basis that newspapers, print and online magazines and online-only news publications do not fall within the commission's mandate. The Press Council of Ireland, being the independent body that oversees news publications, primarily focuses on print media, including newspapers and magazines, but its remit also extends to online news media. RTÉ is not a member of the press council, so another obstacle became apparent, despite the fact that RTÉ publishes news content through various platforms online. This matter has brought to the fore the fact that online reporting by RTÉ and presumably other linear and non-linear broadcasters is currently not subject to any regulation or bound by any particular code of conduct.