Watchdog vows to hold social media giants to account

Under the Online Safety Code, if social media platforms breach the rules they could face heavy penalties of up to €20m or 10% of their turnover, whichever is higher.

Ireland’s media watchdog has vowed to hold social media multinationals to account for content inciting hatred, self-harm and cyberbullying, but experts have questioned whether it will have the teeth to keep children safe online. 

Monday saw the publication of Coimisiún na Meán’s finalised Online Safety Code, which will put binding obligations on platforms such as Facebook, X, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, and it said brings “the end of the era of self-regulation" for such sites.