Written answers

Thursday, 19 November 2020

Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

Online Safety

Photo of Duncan SmithDuncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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139. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the status of plans to introduce an online safety commissioner; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35069/20]

Photo of Catherine MartinCatherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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The Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill provides for a  multi-person Media Commission, including an Online Safety Commissioner who will oversee the regulatory framework for online safety.   

The General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill which included provisions to establish an online Safety Commissioner was approved by Government on 9 January 2020 and subsequently published on 10 January 2020.   It also includes proposals to dissolve the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, establish regulatory frameworks for online safety and the regulation of audiovisual media services, and transpose the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive. The Online Safety Commissioner will have the power to designate online services for regulation and to create and enforce binding online safety codes.  These will seek to minimise the availability of harmful online content through oversight of the systems that online services use to deliver and moderate content. The regulator will have the power to sanction non-compliant online services, including financial sanctions.

At that time the Government also approved the detailed drafting of the proposed Bill by the Office of the Attorney General (AGO) and forwarded the General Scheme to the Joint Oireachtas Committee for Communications, Climate Action and Environment for pre-legislative scrutiny.  Due to the dissolution of the Dail and Committees in January, pre-legislative scrutiny did not commence.  

Responsibility for the proposed Bill was transferred to my Department on 22 September 2020.  Detailed drafting of the Bill by the AGO is ongoing.

Government approval will be sought shortly for the finalisation of General Scheme of the proposed Bill through the addition to the provisions relating to the funding of the Media Commission, the regulation of audiovisual media services, the maximum amount for financial sanctions for non-compliance and other matters.  These additional provisions, when approved, will be forwarded to the AGO for drafting  and to the relevant Joint Oireachtas Committee for pre-legislative scrutiny.  It is for the Committee to determine whether and when to commence such scrutiny.   At this time, the finalised General Scheme will also be notified to the European Commission for a technical conformity assessment with relevant EU law regarding regulations on online services. 

The enactment of the proposed Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill is a commitment in the Programme for Government.

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