Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis na Seanadóirí as an deis an t-ábhar tábhachtach seo a phlé. Gabhaim buíochas leis na Seanadóirí as ucht a gcuid oibre agus táim ag tnúth le tuairimí na gComhaltaí eile a chloisteáil.

The Government is not opposing the motion. As Minister for the media, the issue of online safety is one that I and the Government as a whole, take very seriously, in particular the safety of our children online. It is a matter of priority. The motion identifies issues of concern in respect of children, social media, and smartphones.

I will take this opportunity to update the House in respect of the work that the Government is prioritising on online safety and children using social media online. As Members will see, this is an issue that touches on many areas of government.I acknowledge the work that is under way across the Government, including, for example, in mental health, education and justice.

The Online Safety and Media Regulation Act, which is landmark legislation, was enacted in 2022 and commenced in March 2023. It established a new online safety and media regulator in Coimisiún na Meán. I acknowledge the breadth and depth of engagement by Members of this House during the passage of the Act through the Oireachtas. A key priority in drafting the legislation was to address clear concerns regarding the exposure of children to harmful online content. In particular, there is a real concern that the design and functioning of social media services can lead to children engaging in addictive behaviours that lead them down rabbit holes and can have significant effects on their physical and mental well-being. We must ensure that when using the Internet, children can do so safely.

Coimisiún na Meán is aware of these issues. It is tasked with developing and enforcing a new online safety code under a new regulatory framework. An coimisiún is currently analysing the feedback received as part of the public consultation process that closed at the end of January. It will take that feedback into account in revising the draft code. An coimisiún hopes to publish a revised draft in the coming weeks. It intends to adopt a final code later this year. Broadly, these codes will provide for the regulation of content moderation and delivery systems in use by designated online services in order to protect users from harmful online content such as serious cyberbullying and material that promotes or encourages eating disorders, self-harm or suicide.

A necessary and important part of developing the online safety code was and is consultation. That consultation included the establishment by an coimisiún of a youth advisory committee, as provided for in the Act. The committee gave an coimisiún feedback on the draft code. As I mentioned, the public consultation process concluded at the end of January this year.

The draft code, and its provisions, will address a number of the issues raised in today's motion. For instance, it will set out how platforms must operate effective risk mitigation measures in regard to profiling algorithms and age-inappropriate recommendations. The draft code will, for the first time, set out obligations in respect of age verification and age assurance measures. For instance, it will require designated video-sharing platform services, such as YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, to effectively enforce the minimum age for opening an account with those services. Although there are many more measures set out within the draft code, the final element I highlight relates to parental controls. This measure will require video-sharing platform services to make those controls available to users. In addition, services will be required to draw users' attention to the availability of the controls and to clearly explain their functionality.

The Online Safety and Media Regulation Act is significant legislation. I share the desire to have the binding code in place as quickly as possible in order to safeguard children online. However, it is equally important that the code should be robust and viable. Coimisiún na Meán must strike that balance. Once the code is in place, the robust suite of investigative and enforcement powers provided for under the Act come into play. In this regard, the Act enables an coimisiún to arrange authorised officer investigations of non-compliance with the online safety code, including searches of premises. It may subsequently pursue the imposition of financial sanctions, which can be up to €20 million, or 10% of relevant turnover, whichever is higher. It also may pursue criminal sanctions against individuals.

Another sign of how things have changed for big tech and online platforms is the entering into force of the EU's Digital Services Act, which is another landmark piece of legislation. This EU regulation has applied in full since February. It provides for some level of regulation for almost all online services operating within the EU. The most stringent obligations have applied to very large online platforms and very large online search engines since August 2023. The European Commission leads on the regulation of these services, with the support of a network of digital services co-ordinators across EU member states. In Ireland, under implementing legislation, Coimisiún na Meán has been designated as our digital services co-ordinator.

Among others, the obligations applying to very large online services include requirements to complete risk assessments in respect of the exposure of children and young people to illegal and harmful online content. Services must then address this risk of exposure, including by means of age verification or age assurance. The penalties for a breach of such obligations under the Digital Services Act are up to 6% of the offending service's global turnover. Thus far, there are 22 very large online services designated under the Digital Services Act. Of that number, 13 are established in Ireland, including X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.

It is important to state that enforcement of these rules has already begun. In February, the European Commission launched an investigation into TikTok for possible breaches of the Digital Services Act. This potential breach includes issues relating to its use of recommender systems, how it does, or does not, protect children and whether its mitigation measures, notably its age verification tools, are reasonable, proportionate and effective. As I mentioned, the European Commission is supported by a network of digital services co-ordinators. Coimisiún na Meán stands ready to play its role in the Commission's investigation. I mention this in the context of the RTÉ "Prime Time" programme about TikTok and the DCU Anti-Bullying Centre report, both of which covered the impact of recommender systems and the spread of harmful online content.

The European Commission is looking closely at the task-and-reward features of TikTok Lite, citing them as potentially addictive and harmful to the mental health of users, including teenagers, and a possible breach of the Digital Services Act. The Commission is currently seeking further information from TikTok about its safety measures before considering any enforcement action. While the TikTok Lite service is not currently available in Ireland, this development is further evidence of the momentous changes in the regulation of social media platforms. In fact, TikTok Lite has suspended its task-and-reward feature and is constructively engaging with the European Commission on the matter. That is regulation in action.

Last week, representatives from the social media platforms were before the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, where the agenda was a discussion on protecting children in the use of artificial intelligence. It is important that these companies continue to engage constructively in this process to ensure we create a safe online environment for our children. Legislation like the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act and the Digital Services Act are important first steps - the first of many steps - that will put online safety at the heart of online regulation in Ireland and throughout Europe. Online safety for our children is of paramount importance.

As provided for under the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act, Coimisiún na Meán has a role in delivering and supporting educational initiatives, including with bodies like the Department of Education, webwise.ieand the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA. These initiatives cover online safety, media literacy and initiatives such as The Respect Effect, an anti-bullying educational resource for junior cycle students that was launched by the Online Safety Commissioner in September 2023. Developed by Webwise, it is designed to empower students to take positive action against online bullying, develop their resilience and help them to understand the impacts of cyberbullying.

The motion incudes calls on the Government to act on mental health and education. In this regard, there is a suite of initiatives being implemented across the Government. The HSE will work with CyberSafeKids to support two campaigns, namely, Disconnect to Reconnect and a pre-Christmas campaign supporting parents to ensure their children have a safe, healthy and positive experience online. CyberSafeKids was allocated €100,000 in budget 2024 for these initiatives. A range of supports are available to schools to help them to prevent cyberbullying and promote responsible Internet use, including through the social, personal and health education, SPHE, curriculum, webwise.ieand the national anti-bullying website, tacklebullying.ie.

The Department of Health and Healthy Ireland are currently working with European partners on a joint action under the EU's health programme to set out best practice with regard to the restriction of advertising of unhealthy or harmful foods and beverages to children. Healthy Ireland is engaging with an coimisiún on this initiative.

In terms of mental health supports, the Department of Health and the HSE work together to ensure online signposting tools are in place, such as yourmentalhealth.ie. In addition, online supports to meet new and emerging mental health needs are being supported, including remote online counselling services in a pilot primary care mental health hub initiative and awareness training to build resilience and peer support. The Department of Health, the HSE and spunout.ieare collaborating on a dynamic web-based signposting tool for young people aged 16 to 34 to encourage them to recognise mental health difficulties and signpost them to relevant supports.

While the Government is not opposing the motion, there are two issues in particular that must be addressed. The first is the proposal to ban ownership of smartphones by under-13s. The second is the call to legislate to enforce a digital age of consent.Regarding restrictions on smartphone use, the proposed ban would be very difficult to implement and raises complex questions. I understand the concerns of Members and parents in this regard but implementing such a ban would be fraught with difficulty and complex from a regulation perspective, for example, identifying the owner of a smartphone. It is unclear how such a ban might work. Specifically identifying the owner of a smartphone and then identifying who would be liable for sanction for a breach of any ban would be complicated, given that the purchaser and user of a phone are not necessarily the same. In addition, implementing such a ban would be complicated, given the option of online sales from other member states. Banning an age cohort from owning a smartphone in one EU member state would raise issues with regard to the EU Single Market principles of freedom of movement of goods and services. Finally, this approach does not consider whether all Irish parents would support a blanket ban. It is possible that parents would not support such a unilateral ban. There are genuine reasons parents might want or need their children to own a smartphone. Many parents will correctly feel that it should be their decision and they are the ones who know their children best.

While the concerns about children owning smartphones are absolutely understandable, the key issue appears to be one of access to social media, specifically, access to social media applications on a smartphone by children, rather than ownership. For this reason, the Government is focusing on dealing with access and usage of smartphones through hybrid community and national initiatives. Foremost in my mind in this regard is the guidance issued by the Minister for Education on restricting the use of smartphones in schools. The policy, Keeping Childhood Smartphone Free, provides a guide for parents and parents' associations who wish to engage with their school community regarding internet safety and access to smartphones for primary school children. It includes additional supports for parents and teachers around supporting children online.

The suite of regulation I discussed also helps address the negative effects of social media access by making that online world safer and enabling our children to get the benefits of the connectivity the Internet brings, while reducing the risk of those negative effects. As well as this, a plethora of mental health and healthy lifestyle initiatives are designed to encourage children, in a positive way, to balance their online and offline lives, to be mindful of the negative effects of too much screen time, and to take joy in the outdoors as much as they do in their online experiences.

I note the further call to enforce the digital age of consent to ensure that no one aged under 16 is permitted to open a social media account. The age of digital consent is set at 16 years in Ireland, as provided for under the Data Protection Act 2018. It means that it is illegal for any company or corporate body to process the personal data of someone under the age of 16, "for the purposes of direct marketing, profiling or micro-targeting." This is a data protection issue and ultimately a policy issue within the remit of the Minister for Justice. I appreciate the reason for this call, namely, to ensure that younger children do not access social media. However, I am advised that the digital age of consent is a data protection matter that is primarily about prohibiting companies from using children's data to target them with advertising and is not directly relevant to a child's access to or use of social media accounts.

The reality of children accessing online services, which are not appropriate for them, is a serious matter and one that is a concern to all parents. This is why the draft online safety code published by Coimisiún na Meán includes obligations around age verification. In addition, work is ongoing through an EU taskforce on age verification to foster co-operation with national authorities of member states with expertise in the field to identify best practices and standards in age verification. Coimisiún na Meán is a member of this task force. More broadly, the concrete steps being taken through the overall online safety framework of the Online Safety and Media Regulation, OSMR, Act and the Digital Services Act will ensure that platforms come up to the mark regarding their recommender systems, their algorithms, and the measures they take to protect children online.

As I stated, we will not oppose this motion. It raises a number of important issues. From my perspective as Minister for media, the motion reiterates the importance of the development of the first online safety code by Coimisiún na Meán and ultimately the issue of primary concern, which is enhancing the safeguards and protecting our children in the online world. However, there are difficulties with the calls on the Government in respect of smartphone ownership and the digital age of consent. As I noted, the measures proposed may not achieve the desired outcomes. In this regard, the focus would be better placed on the existing approaches to content regulation as set out in the OSMR Act and the EU's Digital Services Act, and the implementation of the wide suite of initiatives that the Government is pursuing to better protect children online.

Mar a dúirt mé, ní chuirim i gcoinne thairiscint an lae inniu. Gabhaim buíochas leis na Seanadóirí as an tairiscint seo a dhéanamh agus táim ag tnúth le cloisteáil ó na Comhaltaí eile.