I welcome the intention of this Bill, which clearly aims to protect children from harm, and I commend People Before Profit on bringing it forward. We will support this Bill through to the next Stages, but we may work with People Before Profit on some amendments to it. We have been examining algorithms at several Oireachtas committees, including the Joint Committee on Arts, Media, Culture, Communications and Sport. The expert opinion given at those committees should feed into this Bill, add some detail and shape the final legislation. As with every other aspect of online safety, I will always be guided by the expert advice when it comes to algorithms, not by self-serving lobbies, not by big tech and not by assertions made by social media platforms that fly in the face of reality. At a recent committee hearing, Meta, Google and TikTok attended, and X declined to attend. All three attendees’ opening statements made assertions that their priorities were online safety, data protection and child and user welfare. They also stated that they can remove reported posts within hours. Their assertions do not marry with the testimony given by witnesses at the recent hearings on online safety. At those hearings, broadcaster Gráinne Seoige, An Garda Síochána, Media Literacy Ireland, the Hope and Courage Collective, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, CyberSafeKids and the Children's Rights Alliance gave detailed testimony on how the social media platforms were failing in their responsibilities. When the testimony from those contributors was put to the social media companies, they disputed that there were widespread problems. Social media companies are living in their own reality. Maybe their research and assertions are being driven by their own recommender algorithms, or maybe they have built a confirmation bias into those algorithms so they think they are always right. Whatever the case may be, they are divorced from reality. When assessed independently, they fail. Researchers have done tests on TikTok and YouTube. One case that I referenced at a committee hearing is a simulated account of a 13-year-old who watched one video containing eating disorder content. Afterwards, analysis of the results of 1,000 video recommendations by YouTube found that over one third were for harmful eating disorder content, including videos endorsing extreme calorie restriction and promoting dangerous diets like anorexia boot camp. These videos are in breach of YouTube's own policies, yet they were still there. In 2024, Dublin City University's anti-bullying centre showed that the recommender algorithms used by social media platforms were rapidly amplifying misogynistic and male supremacist content. In the UK and Australia, a joint study found that these algorithm feedback loops could intensify feelings of guilt, comparison and obsession around food and appearance. Research in the US found that people's daily interactions with online algorithms affect how they learn from others, with negative consequences, including social misperceptions, conflict and the spread of misinformation. What we take from that is that, when assessed, the platforms are failing. They allow harmful content, suicidal ideation and harmful eating disorder content. Their algorithms, as they currently are, push this on users regardless of age. I am disappointed the Government has tabled an amendment to the Bill to stop it from going forward. The Minister's assertion that what the Bill seeks to address is being addressed by Coimisiún na Meán, as Ireland's independent safety and media regulator, through its implementation of Ireland's online safety framework, together with the European Union, is not accurate. The online safety framework page only mentions transparency around algorithms. Two years ago, there was widespread dismay that toxic algorithms are not covered by the online safety code. In 2024, Coimisiún na Meán said that while it recognises that recommender systems can have harmful impacts on users, especially children, it would be best to be able to tackle the potential dangers of these systems through its implementation of the Digital Services Act. Can anyone in government honestly say that this has happened, or that, in reality, these toxic algorithms have been tackled? They have not. Study after study has shown the effects of that. That is why a Bill like this is necessary now. It is needed to stop the toxic echo chambers that are warping people's perception of reality. It is that simple. We have seen other gaps in legislation on online safety in recent months that need to be plugged. I commend anybody who brings a measure forward in an endeavour to do that. The Data Protection Commissioner has issued over €4 billion in fines over the past five years to these companies, including €530 million in the past year alone. It has, however, only collected 0.6% of these fines. That needs to be addressed. I ask the Minister to stop waiting for the EU to make the tough decisions for him. We have an opportunity here and now, as a collective, to introduce legislation that will address a big problem that is affecting people who live in Ireland. We need to do our jobs, as Irish legislators, and pass legislation for Ireland.

Sentiment score: 0.00