Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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92. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her views on the progress of establishing an expert group to review the possibility of introducing an individual complaints mechanism for harmful online content within the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2300/22]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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May I begin by thanking the members of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media for their work on the pre-legislative scrutiny report on the General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill, which including a recommendation for provision for an individual complaints mechanism for harmful online content. This is a matter I have been considering closely for some time.

The issue of providing for avenues of redress in terms of individual pieces of content in the online world is complex. The approach in the development of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill to date has been to provide the Online Safety Commissioner with the power to require that regulated online services have effective complaints mechanisms in place with powers of audit and investigation provided to the Commissioner in that respect. The Bill also provides for a super complaints mechanism whereby nominated bodies may notify the Commissioner of concerns regarding a designated online service’s compliance with an online safety code, or of concerns relating to the availability of harmful online content on a service.

I am conscious that the introduction of an individual complaints mechanism raises a number of complex practical and legal issues, including in terms of the sheer volume of content online, that Ireland will be regulating a number of services on an EU wide basis, and questions relating to due process requirements and how quickly decisions could reasonably be made by the Online Safety Commissioner.

In light of the recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee, I am examining how these difficult issues can be addressed. As I announced last week, I will shortly establish an expert advisory group to report within 90 days on these matters with recommendations for how best to address these issues. I intend to announce the membership of the group in the coming days. Following the report of the group, I will consider whether and how to give effect to any recommendations through amendments to the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill at Committee Stage.