Complaints system for removal of online content 'won't be available for two years'

Minister Catherine Martin says it will be 2024 before real progress can be made on Coimisiún na Meán. Picture: Eamon Ward

A complaints system for people who are unsuccessful in getting content removed from social media sites will not be up and running for at least another two years, the minister with jurisdiction over the media has said.

Catherine Martin, Green Party TD and Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport, and Media said that the long-promised online safety regulator — Coimisiún na Meán — must first be put in place before a complaints mechanism can be established. Hiring for the new commission is currently underway and legislation is going through the Oireachtas.

 "If you are looking at early next year for the commission to be set up, it'll take a little while for the codes to be decided upon and signed up to, and it's a year after that, so you are probably looking at 2024, whether that be middle or the end of '24 realistically,” Ms Martin said.

The new complaints system will deal with people who have "exhausted" a social media company's own complaints process, according to the Green Party TD.

It is intended that the complaints mechanism would start with complaints that relate to children such as such as cyberbullying, and content promoting eating disorders or suicide. 

Ms Martin said social media companies would be "bound" to sign up to the online safety codes once they are drafted.

When complaints are upheld, the content will have to be removed under a “content limitation order,” and if social media companies don’t carry this through, "it could be viewed as a criminal offence".

The minister added: "There's no fine, per se, in relation to the individual complaints mechanism, but that's because we hope that the systemic regulation is working."

She was speaking as she published the findings of an expert group tasked with examining the feasibility of including an individual complaints mechanism in the Online Safety and Media Regulation (OSMR) Bill 2022.

The group concluded that such a mechanism which would allow an individual to submit a complaint directly to Coimisiún na Meán is feasible.

The expert group recommended that Coimisiún na Meán should introduce an individual complaints mechanism on a phased basis. Ms Martin said she will seek Government approval to amend the OSMR bill on foot of this recommendation.

It will be up to Coimisiún na Meán to decide how the complaints system will function — whether as an online portal or phone line.

The expert group emphasised that it would not be practicable for Coimisiún na Meán to begin operating the individual complaints mechanism on a short-term basis and would only be feasible if certain key conditions were met.

The group stressed the importance of adequate resourcing, and in that context noted that the costs of the mechanism could be recovered by way of a levy on the providers of designated online services. It is intended that any such levy would be put in place before any mechanism would begin. 

Ms Martin added: “I am confident that using the phased approach we can build an effective individual complaints mechanism that will work well with a systemic regulatory framework for online safety, to reduce the availability and impact of harmful online content.”