Irish Examiner view: Wide-ranging Bill needs great scrutiny

TULLAMORE, IRELAND - JANUARY 14: A young woman lights a candle as she attends a vigil for murdered school teacher Ashling Murphy near the scene of her murder on January 14, 2022 in Tullamore, Ireland. Picture: Charles McQuillan/Getty 

Unsurprisingly, last week’s launch of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill ― all 140-plus pages of it ― did not garner the public attention it may have otherwise done. The nation was focused on other issues, and specifically the murderous attack on Ashling Murphy which will continue to dominate headlines this week.

It is a significant legislative proposal which seeks to establish a wide range of constraints on “old” and “new” media overseen by a single body, the Coimisiún na Meán, an Irish Media Commission. This will include an online safety commissioner, will implement and monitor updated rules for online advertising, social media, broadcasting and video-on-demand services, such as Netflix and Disney+, and has the potential to become one of the state’s most powerful regulators. It will supercede the current functions of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) and oversee both television and radio broadcasters.