Tag Archives: Online Safety

Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny

This morning.

Via The Irish Times:

Legislation that would force social media companies to reveal the identity of anonymous trolls has been introduced to the Dáil by Sinn Féin. The Social Media Platforms (Defamation Amendment) Bill would hold a company accountable for defamation if they failed to or refused to divulge the identity of an account holder who made defamatory statements on their platform.

The Bill, put forward by Sinn Féin’s justice spokesperson Martin Kenny, passed through the first stage of the Dáil yesterday and will be debated by TDs at second stage.

Mr Kenny said he hoped the Government would support the legislation and would bring it through the Oireachtas “as quickly as possible”.

“I feel it is the right thing to do for ourselves here [in Leinster House] and for everyone else in society and many people across the country who have been victims of similar [online]attacks in the past,” he said.

“It is important that we get this piece of legislation through.”

Bill on anonymous online defamation passes first stage in Dáil (Irish Times)

Meanwhile..

Introducing the legislation yesterday, Mr Kenny told the Dail

“The Responsibility of Social Media Platforms (Defamation Amendment) Bill 2022, sets out to amend the Defamation Act 1961 to allow judgments of defamation to be made against social media platforms on which defamatory utterances are made when the social media platform in question is unable to produce the identity of the person who made the utterances and to provide for related matters.

“As we know, there are anonymous people online who sometimes attack, defame and intimidate people. This Bill proposes a change to civil law to allow the person who is the victim of such defamation to take a case against the person who has primary responsibility, that is, the person who uses his or her keyboard or phone to type the defamatory material.

“While it might seem peculiar, I have some sympathy for the social media platforms when they say they are not publishers because they do not have the same editorial oversight as the publisher of a normal publication such as a newspaper.

“That does not exist with social media because it is instant. When somebody puts something up, it is online instantly. There is a difficulty there. The best we have been able to do up to now has been to ask people to take such material down. With this legislation, we are trying to ensure that social media platforms will not be too lax to know who is behind an account.

“They will have to be able to identify such people clearly and to provide that information to a person who has been defamed.

“If a social media company is unable or unwilling to provide such information, it will then be held liable for the defamation. This will put an onus on such companies to keep to an absolute minimum the number of accounts of this nature, accounts that people can hide behind.”

Hardcore.

Meanwhile…

Neale Richmond, Fine Gael TD responded: “The fact that this is coming from Sinn Féin is utterly ironic.

“In advance of the publication, I do hope Sinn Féin themselves have taken a genuine look at the approach of their supporters to social media.”

Sinn Féin is lambasted over ‘ironic’ bill to tackle online trolls (Independent.ie)

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)

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