European laws will prevent children accessing harmful content online

Next month, the country’s first online safety code will come into force. 

European laws will prevent children from being exposed to “dark patterns” online while new age checks will stop them accessing harmful content like pornography, Michael McGrath has said.

The European commissioner for justice, and former minister for finance, told the Irish Examiner that the new proposed Digital Fairness Act will also limit harmful addictive design features such as gambling-like mechanics through loot boxes in popular video games.

It comes as Ireland’s media minister will haul in some of the big social media firms on Monday to tell them that age and identity verification on social media platforms must be introduced as a priority.

“The internet should be a place of opportunity for children, not a minefield of risks,” Mr McGrath said.

“Adolescence is a critical period for brain and personality development. Today’s digital natives navigate blurred boundaries between online and offline worlds and are vulnerable to risks such as cyberbullying and excessive screen time.” 

He said figures show most children are regularly playing video games which expose them to practices such as impulsive purchase prompts and addictive features which heighten the risk for younger people.

They are also vulnerable to social media influencers who are followed by children promoting “unhealthy or inappropriate content without clearly disclosing advertising”.

Parents are then left to protect their children online rather than companies being held accountable, he said.

Next month, the country’s first online safety code will come into force. 

Media regulator Coimisiún na Meán’s code is still subject to a judicial review from Elon Musk-owned X.

The code — which is aligned with Europe’s Digital Services Act — is aimed at protecting children online, with binding rules that seek to prevent harmful content like cyberbullying, racism, or incitement to hatred.

These rules will require platforms to introduce robust age verification, such as verifying a passport, to prevent children from accessing pornography or gratuitous violence online.

If a company breaks the new code, fines of €20m or 10% of their turnover, could apply.

Draft guidelines are also out to public consultation that promote safer default settings, child-friendly tools and effective age verification.

Mr McGrath said the Digital Fairness Act will complement existing measures and seeks to extend protections against targeted advertising beyond online platforms to all traders.

“Furthermore, the Digital Fairness Act could establish boundaries for acceptable content promoted by social media influencers to young audiences, addressing issues like hidden marketing and unhealthy endorsements,” he said.

“Under the Digital Services Act, platforms must already now ensure high standards of privacy, safety, and security for minors, including a ban on targeted advertising based on profiling. 

"Very large platforms — those with over 45m users per month — must assess and mitigate systemic risks affecting children.

“The commission is also developing privacy-friendly age verification tools aligned with the EU Digital Identity wallet to prevent minors’ access to harmful content such as pornography.” 

Mr McGrath said that investigations into major platforms like Meta’s Instagram and Facebook, TikTok and several pornographic websites are ongoing to ensure they are complying with child protection rules.

Draft guidelines are also out to public consultation that promote safer default settings, child-friendly tools and effective age verification.

“Protecting minors online is a continuously evolving challenge,” Mr McGrath added.

Separately, big social media firms are to be hauled before media minister Patrick O’Donovan today, as calls grow for tech companies to introduce age verification for users.

He is due to tell the tech firms the era of the “Wild West” on social media is coming to an end.

It is understood that five tech firms — Meta, TikTok, Google, LinkedIn, and X — have been invited in to meet with Mr O’Donovan. It’s understood all five will be sending representatives to the meeting.

“The damage that social media is doing to young people and to society in general is extremely worrying,” a senior government source said.