Publication of Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill

Check against delivery

Go raibh maith agaibh as a bheith linn inniu chun plé a dhéanamh ar fhoilsiú an Bhille um Rialáil Sábháilteachta agus Meán ar Líne.

The online world, it cannot be denied, is a fascinating and evolving place which has given humanity a myriad of benefits. This has been especially evident during the pandemic.

Nonetheless, along with the good, we should acknowledge the bad. And unfortunately it is clear, today’s internet has also become an environment that facilitates abuse.

The Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill marks a watershed moment as we move from self-regulation to an era of accountability in online safety. It also puts in place a more joined up approach to the regulation of television and video on-demand services.

A key part of the Bill is that it establishes a new, powerful regulator to enforce this new rules based system and ensure accountability in the sector.

The new regulator, Coimisiún na Meán or, in the English language, the Media Commission, will include an Online Safety Commissioner t0 enforce not just this legislation, but also additional forthcoming legislation, including at European level, in the coming years.

This Bill breaks new ground in regulating harmful online content for the first time. As such, not every aspect of harmful online content will be addressed in this first piece of legislation but there will be a rolling package of regulation coming from Europe and from right across the government system over the coming decade that will update Ireland’s regulatory systems for a digital age. This includes the forthcoming Electoral Reform Bill and Gambling Bill.

The Commission will form a vital part of a new network of digital regulators both across the EU and in Ireland, including the Data Protection Commission and the proposed Gambling regulator.

As the means by which we create, publish and view audio-visual content continues to change, the Commission will provide a repository of expertise and knowledge to the government and wider public on a sector that has radically transformed over the past decade, and that will continue to evolve.

Given the importance of the Commission, Government has now approved its establishment on an administrative basis prior to the enactment of the Bill. Work is underway between my officials and officials from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Public Appointments Service to start recruitment of key staff of the Commission, including an Online Safety Commissioner, through open public competitions. Today’s agreement by Government now paves the way for this new powerful digital regulator to get up and running.

While the Commission will ultimately be funded through levies on regulated services, I secured €5.5 million in Budget 2022 in start-up funding for to support the administrative establishment of the Commission and enable it to hit the ground running once formally established.

The Commission will have robust powers of enforcement and sanction, including financial sanctions of up to 20 million or 10% of turnover.

In terms of online safety, the goal of the Online Safety Commissioner will be to minimise the availability of defined categories of harmful online content through binding Online Safety Codes, including certain criminal content, serious cyberbullying content and other damaging material. The Commissioner will have specific regard to the effects of such content on children when defining and enforcing the Online Safety Codes.

I would like to thank the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media for their thorough pre-legislative scrutiny. I am happy to say that the majority of the 33 recommendations contained in their report have been addressed.

For example, the Bill that is being published today addresses recommendations in relation to better defining harmful online content, reporting requirements for online services, a bigger role for the Media Commission in education and the independence and resourcing of the Commission.

There are other recommendations including those regarding the provision of an individual complaints mechanism for harmful online content, that require further consideration and which I intend to address through potential amendments to the Bill at Committee Stage. I am currently in the process of establishing an expert group to report to me within 90 days with recommendations for how to best address the matter of individual complaints. I will announce the membership of the group next week.

This Bill and the establishment of a fully resourced Online Safety Commissioner’s office also go towards fulfilling a key Programme for Government commitment made by this coalition.

In line with that pledge, online platforms will have to in future set out the steps they will take to keep their users safe online; there will be new Online Safety Codes to combat damaging material such as cyber bullying, services promoting eating disorders, self-harm, or suicide; and also mechanisms for further categories of harmful content to be added following consultation with the Oireachtas.

The Bill I am publishing represents a new departure in Irish law and is emblematic of this government’s commitment to protecting the people of Ireland, especially our children, whether offline or online through fair, rules-based and robust regulation.

Go raibh maith agaibh.