Garda Commissioner joins calls for social media companies to do more to protect the public from crimes

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris: Garda HQ confirmed he was a signatory to the statement issued by the European Police Chiefs. Picture: Conor McKeown

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has joined police bosses from across Europe in calling on social media companies to establish a technical means to identify child sexual abuse and other serious crimes on encrypted communications they provide.

The European Police Chiefs issued a declaration saying they are “deeply concerned” that end-to-end encryption was being expanded without major tech companies retaining the ability to ensure their services were not being used for the most serious of crimes, including those against children.