Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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577. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide clarification regarding data protection regulation to police any undesirable Facebook material and to protect specific targeted victims from unscrupulous users; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17815/15]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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Data Protection is a matter for the Minister for Justice and Equality, and to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and I have no function in this area.

The pervasive use of social media, taken together with the rise of connected mobile devices, has led to a unique set of challenges for individuals and for Government. The issues are complex and delicate; a balance has to be struck between preserving freedom of speech and freedom of expression online, and protecting children and young people in particular from content that may be age inappropriate or harmful. Finding an appropriate model for governance of online content is an issue facing governments across the world.

In Ireland, the Internet Content Governance Advisory Group, which reported to Government last year, completed a comprehensive analysis of the situation. The Group made a series of recommendations and I will be bringing an implementation plan to Government shortly with detailed proposals to deal with online abuse and accessing of potentially harmful content.