Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Although the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport is the parent department of Coimisiún na Meán, I will respond to this particular question, as the Digital Services Act falls under the policy remit of the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment.

Article 22 of the Digital Services Act (DSA) mandates that providers of online platforms shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the notices submitted by Trusted Flaggers (TF) acting within their designated area of expertise, are given priority and processed and decided upon without undue delay.

To be awarded the status of TF, an applicant must satisfy the following conditions set out in Article 22. An applicant must demonstrate:

• they have particular expertise and competence for the purposes of detecting, identifying and notifying illegal content;
• they are independent from any provider of online platforms; and,
• they carry out their activities for the purposes of submitting notices diligently, accurately and objectively.

TFs are an important component of the DSA eco-system and play a crucial role in tackling illegal content online. Since the introduction of the TF status by the DSA, 43 entities have been awarded TF status across the EU.

In Ireland, Coimisiún na Meán has to date awarded Trusted Flagger status to one entity— the Central Bank of Ireland, whose area of expertise is financial fraud and financial scams online. Currently, two applications are under assessment, with areas of expertise in property rights and hate speech, respectively.

The granting of TF status is not a scheme run by An Coimisiún. It is a status awarded based on applications received, where the applicant meets the eligibility and award conditions set out in Article 22 of the DSA. Therefore, the issue of “expanding the scheme” does not arise.

Since the transposition of the DSA, An Coimisiún has been very proactive in the TF space, mainly in two areas: stakeholder engagement and development of guidelines.

Stakeholder engagement focused on raising awareness about the TF status, providing information about the certification process and encouraging potential applicants, in particular child-protection agencies, to apply for the status. This engagement takes the form of open-door information sharing events and one to one meetings with potential candidates, and covers a broad range of stakeholders, including state agencies, civil society groups and NGOs.

The first open-door event took place in September 2024 and focused on the certification process and certification conditions. It was very well attended by approximately 30 entities, mainly across (but not exclusively) the child-protection spectrum. The next information sharing event is planned for Q1 2026, after the European Commission publishes guidelines for TFs. That event will aim to raise awareness about the TF status and the new guidelines.

In addition to open-door events, between April and October 2025, An Coimisiún has held one to one engagements with approximately 20 entities including state and non-state child protection agencies, state departments, NGOs and peer regulators. As a result of these interactions, An Coimisiún is hopeful that applications from a number of child protection agencies will be received by the end of this year.

As well as stakeholder engagement, An Coimisiún has proactively contributed to the development of guidelines for TF, at both national and European level. At European level, An Coimisiún has supported the European Commission with developing TF Guidelines, expected to be published in Q1 2026, and was part of an early group of 15 Digital Service Coordinators who developed guidelines for the certification process (February 2024). At national level, An Coimisiún developed a TF FAQ document, which sets out in plain English the TF legal provisions and provides answers to questions related to activities pre and post certification.

For additional information please see:

www.cnam.ie/industry-and-professionals/online-safety-framework/certifications-schemes/trusted-flaggers/