“URGENT action” to prevent children “being exposed to pornography, violence and other harmful content” is needed ahead of new laws coming into effect, a TD has said.
Fine Gael Deputy Keira Keogh is urging Coimisiun na Mean to ensure that video-sharing platforms and websites adhere to new explicit content rules.
The legislation, which is set to come into effect on July 21, will require platforms to verify user ages when accessing adult content.
Speaking on the issue, Deputy Keogh said: “As a newly elected TD and as Chair of the Children & Equality Committee, pushing for initiatives that protect children’s mental health from harmful online content is a top priority.
“Access to pornography nowadays is a free for all and is completely unregulated.”
She added: “If a parent discovered that their teenager had been exposed to pornography while watching television at a friend’s house, it’s likely they would be permanently banned from visiting, and the friend’s parent could be reported to Tusla.
“Yet we give teenagers smartphones with open access to the internet, where they regularly encounter misogynist and toxic content online, especially on well-known pornographic websites.”
Online Safety commissioner Niamh Hodnett has said that video-sharing platforms will be supervised by Coimisiun na Mean to ensure verifications are in place by July.
For explicit websites based outside of Ireland, the commission will work with the European Commission and regulators across the EU.
It follows calls by Tanaiste Simon Harris in recent weeks to give “serious consideration” to a social media ban for all children under 16.
Harris warned that such use represented a “ticking time bomb” and that while the current age of digital consent in Ireland is 16, there are a lot of “workarounds” to it.
Deputy Keogh has said: “It is welcome that the commission is working with European and UK counterparts to align age verification standards, as we can learn from other countries in models that they have adopted, what has been successful and what we could do differently.
“I support recent comments by Tánaiste Simon Harris, who said users here should be at least 16 before they can have a social media account, in line with Ireland’s Digital Age of Consent.
‘URGENT ACTION NEEDED’
“I truly believe urgent action needs to be taken across the board to prevent children being exposed to pornography, violence and other harmful content online.”.
Keogh added that she looks forward to engaging with the commission and social media platforms through the Oireachtas Children’s Committee.
However, she noted: “The Online Safety Commissioner must ensure these new measures are robustly enforced and that non-compliant websites are named and subject to the appropriate sanctions.”
