Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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73. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he is satisfied with the safeguards contained in the EU's chat control proposal in respect of privacy and data protection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53733/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The proposed Regulation to prevent and combat child sexual abuse seeks to establish a harmonised legal framework, which will set out the responsibilities for providers to assess and mitigate risks and, where necessary, to detect, report and remove such abuse on their services. The proposal builds on the Digital Services Act, which lays down horizontal rules in relation to illegal content and complements it with provisions to address the specific challenges posed by child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online.

Since the proposed regulation was published in 2022, my Department has engaged, and continues to engage, with relevant domestic and international stakeholders.

As the prevalence of online child sexual exploitation and abuse continues to grow, the need for effective legislation and international co-operation becomes all the more important. Online service providers must be empowered and, where necessary, compelled to detect, remove and report such abuse on their platforms.

This Government supports the draft Regulation’s intention to place a mandatory obligation on all service providers, rather than leave any ambiguity about the responsibilities service providers have, to address child sexual abuse and exploitation on their services.

Ireland supports the fundamental principles underlying the Commission proposal, i.e. that it should apply to all forms of online child sexual abuse, and that it should be technology-neutral, respect the fundamental rights of all parties concerned, and apply to all relevant services.

The proposed regulation sets out a series of safeguards to minimise the interference with fundamental rights, most notably the right to privacy of users of the services. I can confirm that Ireland is satisfied with the safeguards contained in the proposal in respect of privacy and data protection, particularly the necessity that detection orders be issued by a court, having taken into account the fundamental rights of all parties.

Detection orders are a measure of last resort. They are time bound and targeted at a particular service, that has failed through other measures, to effectively prevent the dissemination of CSAM on their service. Reports sent to the EU Centre by service providers will be assessed to identify any false positives, prior to the EU Centre transmission of reports to Europol as well as to national law enforcement authorities.

As the Deputy will also be aware, negotiations are on-going on this proposal. The privacy concerns associated with the proposal are recognised, and much of the negotiations have focused on ensuring that users’ rights to privacy are appropriately balanced with the protection of children and of child victims of abuse.

This Government strongly supports the introduction of robust legislation at EU level to tackle online child sexual abuse and exploitation.