Harris Welcomes Online Safety Code Publication

There is a light…

atest press release from Taoiseach Simon Harris, issued on Monday, October 21st 2024…

Taoiseach Simon Harris has welcomed the publication of the Online Safety Code today.

The new Online Safety Code marks the end of self regulation for social media companies, putting in place sanctioning powers which will see significant fines of up to €20 million or 10% of a platform’s annual turnover if they don’t comply.

Speaking today, Taoiseach Simon Harris said: “As Taoiseach I care deeply about Online Safety and I believe we need to do so much more in this area, especially to protect children and young people’s mental health.

“I am really pleased to say that today we are adopting an Online Safety Code through Coimisiún na Meán, our Online Media Regulator.

“What this means is that the era of self-regulation is over for big social media companies.

“As a parent I am reassured we are taking these steps to ensure child protection.

“We are now going to truly tackle harmful and illegal online content. We are taking steps forward to ensure a safer online environment, in particular for our children and young people.

“The Online Safety Code will hold social media companies’ feet to the fire. They will be held accountable for how they protect those who use their platforms.

“We’re putting in place sanctioning powers which will see huge fines of up to €20 million or 10% of a platform’s annual turnover if they don’t comply.

“On top of this we’re forcing parental controls on these websites making the platforms use age assurances to prevent children from encountering harmful video content that would impact the development of children under 16.

“With the adoption of the Online Safety Code, all the elements of our Online Safety Framework are now in place. The Framework, which also comprises the Digital Services Act and the Terrorist Content Online Regulation, gives Coimisiún na Meán the power to address the root causes of harm online, including the availability of illegal content, the harmful impact of recommender systems, and inadequate protections for children on social media services. Under the Online Safety Framework, platforms must have systems for users to report content and those platforms must also make a decision in relation to content which is flagged or reported.

“This is an important day for the country as we take a major step forward in reducing harm online.

“I will continue to work tirelessly on this as I know this is a major issues for parents right across the country.”