Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I thank the Minister for being here for this very important debate. I thank the Fine Gael Senators for tabling it. The Minister will recall we had a lot of engagement privately, and in the Chamber, about the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act, which established what is rapidly becoming perhaps the most important and powerful regulator in the State, given its role in a broad range of media, particularly looking at new technology and what is happening there.

It is very important that while we must ensure everybody's safety in the online space, including on mobile phones and other devices, it is particularly important for children and young people that they are safe when they use new technology and devices. Senator Seery Kearney is quite strong on this issue. Presentations were recently made before the Oireachtas children's committee by X, Meta and TikTok. The Minister is quite familiar with these presentations. I am quite concerned. While some of the companies are making efforts to address questions about online safety, I am not sufficiently convinced they are going far enough.

The Minister will recall that Senator Cassells and I produced a number of rather strongly-worded amendments, which we still feel could have been pushed, that would have placed more pressure on the technology companies. I make a prediction that they may be revisited at some stage. The responsibility we have as legislators is, in the very first instance, to provide for the safety of all of our citizens and particularly for the most vulnerable. That includes children and young people.

Coimisiún na Meán has produced a very good start with where it is going. The Online Safety Commissioner is doing an excellent job. She has certainly hit the ground running. In particular I welcome, and I know the Minister took it on board, the establishment of a youth advisory panel. It is critical that in any decision being made about the use of technology that impacts on young people, young people are involved themselves. In the school system the Irish Second-Level Students' Union should always be involved in any input. I fully support the motion and the initiatives happening here, and particularly the work of CyberSafeKids.

Responsibility lies in a number of different areas. These include the technology companies. At design stage for any of their programmes and in the roll-out of their algorithms, they must ensure they are responsible. If they are not, and that is why we made the case to make individual directors responsible, the buck must stop somewhere. As technology and artificial intelligence turbocharges the opportunities and some of the online harms, we may need to take tougher action against some of the technology companies.

There is also the role of the regulators. Coimisiún na Meán is playing a very positive role. One of the concerns we raised was about resourcing Coimisiún na Meán, particularly in terms of the staff. I am very happy to see the number of staff it has and their quality and calibre.

We as legislators have a responsibility. This is also about informing ourselves much more about what is happening with technology and artificial intelligence. I am long on the record as looking for a special committee, whether of this House or a joint committee, to examine the impact of AI on society, including on mobile devices. It is important to have a snapshot of the opportunities and challenges, looking particularly at how AI is impacting on young people and has the potential to impact further.

There is a big responsibility on all of us as citizens to inform ourselves to a far greater extent. I encourage the Minister to have public information campaigns on issues such as what an algorithm is and how the recommender system works on our phones. This should be a critical part of the formal education system from primary school on, so that children can understand technology and what happens. Even on a much wider basis I would love to hear radio advertisements explaining very simply how social media operates and where somebody needs to go to get further information. I am aware that Coimisiún na Meán and the Online Safety Commissioner will be moving into this and I hope the Minister will support it.

This is a very important area. The Minister has provided real leadership on it. As an Oireachtas we really need to take very seriously the issue of the safety of children and young people online.