I thank People Before Profit for bringing forward this long-awaited, valuable Bill. I may not always agree with Deputy Gibney but I certainly agree with a lot of what she had to say today, in fairness. I was talking recently to a politician who said there was something quite nasty put up about him online. It was something he had done, and then under the newspaper article stuff came up that was untrue. He contacted the newspaper and they said, "Do not worry about that person. We know. She puts this up all the time." I cannot understand why the newspaper allowed that up all the time if it knew about it. It should have acted on it immediately. However, we are thick-skinned, and it is well we all know we all get slated and it is a free go, as people would see it. This Bill is really about keeping our young people safe online. The Bill says that if a platform knows someone is under 18, or even if it is not sure of their age, it cannot use these personalised recommender systems on them. It puts the responsibility back on big tech companies, where it belongs. In every community, be it urban or rural, be it west Cork or Dublin city centre, parents want to know that their children are not being steered by hidden online forces. This Bill is one step towards making the online world a bit safer, a bit fairer and a bit more honest. We all know, as public representatives and as ordinary people, just how dangerous online activity can be. Every one of us has seen it. Many of us have been on the receiving end of it. The minute you stand up and say anything, suddenly the online trolls come crawling out of the woodwork. It is never just once; the same characters pop up again and again leaving nasty comments under every newspaper post, pouring poison into public discussion and trying to tear people down for sport. We all recognise them. The newspapers recognise them too. They know well when an account is not legitimate or when someone is clearly nuts. Yet nothing is done. That is not good enough any more. These platforms, including the newspapers that host the comment sections, carry a responsibility. When they stand back and do nothing and when they let the same trolls run wild day after day, they play a part in the harm and they allow abuse to continue, knowing full well what is happening right under their noses. All we are saying is simple. Everyone who benefits from putting content online, including newspapers, has to accept some responsibility for keeping that space safe because when they turn a blind eye, the damage does not disappear. It lands on real people in real communities trying to do their best. While we are talking about the online world, I want to turn to something weighing heavily on many families across the country: the situation in the Middle East. The truth is that without social media platforms and online communication, we would not have a hope of keeping up with the updates we need for our constituents. People are scared, they are stranded and they are trying to get home safely. We have people stuck all over the Middle East, terrified of what is going on around them, and all we as public representatives can do is point them towards the Irish embassies in their area and urge them to register. It is the only official channel available to them and to us. That is the reality. I am in constant contact with groups of people through WhatsApp. I set up groups-----

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Yes. This is online. We are talking about online platforms, and only for online platforms the people of the Middle East-----

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Yes. I know that too. That is tomorrow evening. We have done that through our Business Committee, but this is very relevant to online platforms as well. I set up groups and I talk to them day and night, trying to keep some of them informed and reassured. Thank God they are finally getting on flights tonight and making their way home, but others are still trapped. I have people stuck in the Philippines being absolutely taken advantage of. The airline is trying to charge €10,000 per person just to get them as far as London. Families cannot afford €10,000. Nobody can. Then I have others in Sri Lanka who have no clear way of getting home at all. They are frightened, isolated and unsure where to turn.

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Here is the point. Without online platforms and without the ability to share honest information among ourselves and to pass on updates, warnings and bits of advice, these people would be completely on their own. The only lifeline they have right now is the information we can give them online and the information they can send back to us. Yes, online spaces can be dangerous and toxic - we know that too well - but they can also be a lifeline. They can be the one thing keeping an Irish citizen thousands of miles away connected to home, connected to help and connected to hope, and that is why we have to get this right. We have to protect people from the harm that happens online while also making sure we can still use the platforms to help those who need it most. I got there.

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