Maria McCormack (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Today I want to talk about Coco's Law. As my colleague has mentioned, today is Safer Internet Day. It comes at a time when the scale of online risk facing children and young people in this country can no longer be ignored. New research released this morning by CyberSafeKids paints a deeply worrying picture. Over 3,300 primary schoolchildren and more than 1,700 parents were surveyed nationwide. The findings show that one in eight children is at risk of online contact with strangers. More than half the children have no parental restrictions around online contact, including chatting and gaming with people they do not know. Just 39% of eight- to 12-year-olds say their parents monitor or check their online activity and fewer than half say there are clear rules at home about privacy settings or sharing images and videos of themselves online.

This is not about blaming parents. I am a parent myself who is probably guilty of not monitoring enough. It is about recognising how fast technology is moving and how unprotected many children are in the online space, and acknowledging that the law is struggling to keep pace.

Today in the Dáil, Sinn Féin is bringing forward really important legislation to close this gap. Sinn Féin's amendment to Coco's Law would clarify that the creation of sexualised AI deepfakes is illegal by criminalising the generation and creation of non-consensual images and videos. It would also extend the statute of limitations from two to five years, which would allow victims plenty of time to come forward and would also give An Garda Síochána enough time to forensically and technically examine personal electronic devices and services in order to build a strong case. In addition, the Bill would increase the maximum penalties upon conviction to properly reflect the impact and the seriousness of these crimes.

On Safer Internet Day, I am calling for action. I am calling on the Government parties in here to support this legislation and to ensure our laws genuinely protect children and victims of online and offline abuse, as new technologies emerge.