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.

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

“We now have all the elements of Coimisiún na Meán’s online safety framework in place,” online safety commissioner Niamh Hodnett said. “We’re looking for a step change in terms of platforms’ behaviour.

We will ensure that the platforms protect their users, especially children, that they keep them safe, and will hold the platforms to account when they fall short. Or if they fall short, we will be supervising to see if the platforms are meeting their obligations.

Reacting to the finalised code, CyberSafeKids chief executive Alex Cooney said while she welcomed its publication, it must be reviewed within two years “to make sure it delivers on what it aims to do” as it is often the case that social media companies take little action when content is reported to them.

“We said from the outset, we felt this code should be quite prescriptive in how quickly user complaints should be responded to,” she said.

“When we’ve dealt with cases involving a child where they wanted material taken down, either they haven’t heard back or it’s taken too long. The child is very anxious and there’s been cases where they won’t leave their room or have self-harmed. We’ve intervened in such cases but we shouldn't have to.” 

The regulator said the obligations introduced on these firms would protect people, particularly children, from harmful video and associated content, such as:

• “Prohibiting the uploading or sharing of harmful content on their services, including cyberbullying, promoting self-harm or suicide and promoting eating or feeding disorders as well as incitement to hatred or violence, terrorism, child sex abuse material, racism and xenophobia;
• “Using age assurance to prevent children from encountering pornography or gratuitous violence online and having age verification measures in place as appropriate;
• “Providing parental controls for content which may impair the physical, mental, or moral development of children under 16.” On the topic of age assurance, this could take the form of using a passport or a live selfie to prove you are overage, or AI techniques could be used, it said.

Meanwhile, digital services commissioner John Evans said the regulator would have the ability to “track and monitor” what platforms are doing and this code was ensuring they live up to their obligations rather than policing what people are saying online.

“It's not our role to take down content, we're not a censor,” he said.

He also urged people to continue to flag content they feel is illegal to that site, before taking further action.

Educational materials have also been sent to every secondary school in Ireland, with the regulator saying it had received assurance from the Education Minister Norma Foley these would be added to the curriculum.

While elements of the code will apply from next month, technical changes required for some platforms will see them obliged to make those changes by next July.

Ms Cooney added protecting children online should be a priority for all political parties heading into the election and, given the lead-in time for some aspects of the code, it is “not the kind of pace of change” she would like to see.

“It’s really important that we it right,” she said. “Will [the Online Safety Code] have the teeth to make the difference? We need a review to make sure it’s doing the things it needs to. I hope I’m proved utterly wrong and I hope it proves effectively quite quickly.”