Harmful Content Czar

at

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin this afternoon

This afternoon.

Government Buildings, Dublin 2.

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin has launched the the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill paving the way for a new watchdog to ‘regulate online services and to reduce the availability of harmful content’.

Vias Gov.ie:

The Bill will establish a new regulator, a multi-person Media Commission which will include the Online Safety Commissioner. This new body will be responsible for overseeing updated regulations for broadcasting and video on-demand services and the new regulatory framework for online safety created by the Bill.

The Media Commission will also have roles in relation to the protection of children, research, education, media literacy, journalistic and creative supports. In carrying out these roles the Commission will support and promote an open, trusted and pluralistic media and online environment….

Hmm.

Meanwhile…

Online Safety Commissioner?

It will be the role of the  to oversee the regulatory framework for online safety. As part of the framework, the Commissioner will devise binding online safety codes that will set out how regulated online services, including certain social media services, are expected to deal with certain defined categories of harmful online content on their platforms. The defined categories of harmful online content include criminal material, serious cyber-bullying material and material promoting self-harm, suicide and eating disorders.

The Online Safety Commissioner will have a range of powers to ensure compliance, including the power to require the provision of information and to appoint authorised officers to conduct investigations. In the event of a failure to comply with a relevant online safety code, and subject to court approval, the Media Commission will have the power to sanction non-compliant online services, including through financial sanctions of up to €20m or 10% of turnover.

Media Commission?

The Media Commission will take on the current functions of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and regulate both television and radio broadcasters. The Commission will also be responsible for the regulation of video on-demand services. The regulations that apply to these services will be set out in Media Codes and Rules and will address issues such as programme standards, advertising, sponsorship, product placement, accessibility and other matters.

There will also be a new 30% quota for European Works in the catalogues of video on-demand services. There is already an existing quota of 50% for European Works for transmission time for television broadcasters.

Fight!

Minister Martin presses forward with vital online safety law to establish new regulator (Gov.ie)

Meanwhile…

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12 thoughts on “Harmful Content Czar

  1. Gavin

    Simon makes some good points, not only huge overreach but a total lack of understanding of what they are proposing.

    1. Nigel

      Effectively allowing tech companies to self-regulate and monopolise has left authorites far behind in effective internet oversight and accountability. Mind you, how many of the online bad actors pushing propaganda and disinformation are themselves working for states? It’s a mess, and its eroding any sense of objective truth and shared reality.

      1. Fergalito

        “It’s a mess, and its eroding any sense of objective truth and shared reality.”

        100% … couldn’t agree more.

      2. Gavin

        I’d agree its a mess to some extent, it can be hard to obtain objective truth, but it always has been, just requires a bit of effort and common sense. I don’t think the Irish government is going to improve it they’ll just make it worse. Look at the debacle with the Data Protection Commission. What they are talking about is excessive, it looks like it will even cover personal data storage.

        1. Nigel

          It can be hard, but it can certainly be made easier. Obviously this is not necessarily going to do that.

      3. K.Cavan

        Nigel, of all the Woke Fascism turds you’ve dumped on this forum this is right up there with the very best. “effective internet oversight and accountability”, you realise Social Media is the modern equivalent of Conversation? And you think the State has some role to play in people’s conversations? Really? Seriously?
        You must’ve needed two trucks & a team of navvies to unload that load of merde from your brain.
        The whiff of Authoritarian Overreach would make anyone with a belief in Freedom Of Expression bring up their dinner.
        The fascist who lacks the self-awareness to know their real selves is the most dangerous of all.

        1. Nigel

          The state plays in a role in people’s conversations. Threats, harassment and fraud are alll crimes that can be committed through Conversation on and off-line. Libel and defamation also apply since social media is a form of publishing. Advertising is a commercial transaction that is regulated by government, as is spending on election campaigns, both of which apply to social media. Criminals and terrorists are known to conspire online. State actors are known to destabilise, attack, hack and spread disinformation about rival states, parties, institutions and individuals. Private actors are known to do the same. Money laundering, hacking, theft and sanction-busting by rogue states all occur onine, often via social media – hans cryptocurrencies and NFTS!

          Social media is literally becoming a tool of totalitarian dystopia. But sure, ignore it, it’s all just a Conversation, and anyone who tries to draw attention to anything else is a woke fascist turd. Or maybe all that merde you keep seeing is in your own brain.

  2. Dr.Fart

    “Im a Green! im going to get into power and help the environment!”
    “yea yea, what you’re going to do is bring in a law so we can legally delete tweets being mean to TD’s”

  3. GiggidyGoo

    Media Commission will take on the current functions of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.
    A renaming then?

  4. K.Cavan

    There is only one rational solution, government should enforce a No Political Censorship policy on all online forums, then shut up. Nothing else will ever, ever work.
    This, however, is all about the enforcement of Woke Progressivism, everybody knows it, though some are loathe to admit it. Our mainstream media is a Woke Idiocracy & as a result, is no longer a viable business model, without becoming sponsored mouthpieces for spergy oligarchs like Bill Gates, who’s paid journalists’ wages to the tune of $315 million in the last 18 months alone.
    The Irish State simply hasn’t got the talent or chops to delve in here but obviously, they’ve been mandated to do so by those who actually control the country. This will be a disaster of a sham of a mockery of two shams.
    God protect us from our puppet politicians & their career Civil Servant gollums.

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