Social media may be fined for allowing posts prejudicial to trials

Social media giants such as Twitter and Facebook could be fined if they fail to take down posts likely to prejudice a criminal trial.

Proposed legislation to be put before the Dáil today, by Fine Gael’s Josepha Madigan, will seek to push responsibility for such posts away from the individual poster and onto the social media companies hosting the comments.

The bill comes just months after the Jobstown trial, in which six people were cleared of charges in relation to the alleged false imprisonment of former tánaiste Joan Burton. The issue of social media commentary on the trial made headlines while, in advance of that trial, Judge Melanie Greally said the existing contempt of court laws were “hopelessly inadequate” to curb such commentary.