Irish Examiner view: Differing messages on online culpability

Social media giant Tiktok defended their actions over content moderation, despite criticism of the platform

The Oireachtas media committee heard from representatives of Tiktok, who claimed the responsibility for criminal acts rests 'with the individual'.

Yesterday representatives of the social media platform TikTok defended the company at the Oireachtas media committee meeting, though ‘defence’ may not be the most accurate description of the encounter.

There was an intense focus on the company in the wake of the M9 crash which killed five people and left others seriously injured. Some of those driving cars the wrong way on motorways were filming themselves and then uploading the clips on platforms such as TikTok.

Though it originally declined the invitation to attend the committee hearings, TikTok subsequently changed tack and sent representatives.

At yesterday’s meeting one of the company’s representatives stated: “While platforms have a responsibility to ensure they are not facilitating or amplifying criminal behaviour, responsibility for an act of criminality ultimately rests with the individual who chooses to commit it.”

Yesterday’s meeting heard TikTok claim that it had removed thousands of videos that “could cause significant physical harm, including promoting risky driving”. However, when asked if clips of dangerous driving might be recommended to someone who did not seek them out, the company admitted that if the content was not identified as violating its terms there was “a possibility that it would be recommended”.

This contradiction should be considered in the context of a report from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC), which was also published yesterday. As Ann Murphy reported here, it states that social media, online communication tools, and gaming environments are being used to “target, recruit, and control children”.

On the one hand a social media platform is claiming it does its best to remove dangerous content as soon as it can. On the other a human rights organisation is stating that social media is being used to target and control children.

Readers can make up their own minds as to which to believe.

Financial hardship of cancer patients

The number of people in Ireland diagnosed each year with cancer is close to 50,000, which is a sizeable proportion of the population.

Thankfully more people now survive and live with cancer than ever before, which makes it all the more puzzling that the impact of the illness on one specific area of their lives is not dealt with more sympathetically.

Those affected by cancer often face significant financial challenges — additional costs at a time when they may also experience loss of income.

The Irish Cancer Society (ICS) stated this week that cancer patients can lose up to €16,200 in annual income as the result of a diagnosis.

The ICS’s research data suggests those with cancer can spend €400 a month on medical expenses, such as medication and GP visits, while travel costs can reach €300 a month when parking fees, fuel costs and toll charges are added up. The loss of income while undergoing treatment or recovering from surgery is another consideration.

On top of this there is the huge emotional stress of dealing with a serious illness, which is surely exacerbated if someone with cancer is struggling to make rent or mortgage payments.

The ICS is arguing for three specific provisions to address this situation. An automatic entitlement to a medical card would relieve many patients’ stress, as would lowering the threshold for the drug payment scheme to be dropped from €80 to €40.

It is also calling for those with advanced or end of life cancer to be the fuel allowance or household benefits package automatically.

These are reasonable requests to make, particularly when there can hardly be a family in Ireland which has not had to deal with a cancer diagnosis. The ICS is to be commended for articulating a significant challenge which can compound one of the most testing experiences imaginable.

Removing some of the stress associated with that experience would be a humane intervention.

Put on the shelf

Ireland is renowned all over the world as a place which knows how to say farewell to the deceased. From wakes to keening, the Irish way of death is recognised as inclusive and communal, a process of sharing the burden of grief to lessen its weight somewhat.

As reported by Sean O’Riordan this week, Cork County Council is to look into creating more ‘columbarium’ storage-style walls in its cemeteries because almost one third of people who die in the region opt for cremation.

The council warned that such walls are expensive to build, but the growing number of cremations must also be accommodated. There are pilot columbarium schemes in various parts of the county, but councillors pointed out that availability varies widely.

They can be found in Mallow, Fermoy, Little Island and Cobh, for instance, but the facility in Bantry is the only one serving all of west Cork.

Meanwhile, the most populous town in Cork, Carrigaline, might be the nearest to the crematorium in Haulbowline, but it has no columbarium at all.

In one sense this will have little impact on the traditional rituals accompanying a funeral, though ironically it may change one of the great wedding proposal formulae far more.

Instead of asking if one’s beloved wishes to be buried with your people, he or she will have to be asked if they would like to be shelved with them instead.