I propose to share time with Deputy Lawlor. This Bill is very similar to, if not a mirror copy of, the Bill I published. It even has the same name, but we will not worry about that. The most important thing is that legislation is brought in one way or the other. I could not care less whether it is brought forward by my party, Sinn Féin or the Government. The most important element of the Bill is its timing. We do not have time to wait. The Labour Party has the longest track record on this issue. My colleague and former Deputy Brendan Howlin was the instigator of Coco's Law, which, I acknowledge, was taken on and brought in by the Government. We identified a loophole in the legislation some time ago in that AI-generated images are not covered. As well as addressing that, we must invert responsibility for what is happening. Big-tech e-commerce companies could not care less about fines. They build them into their business planning. The only thing that will work is making them criminally liable where what we are discussing happens. It is the only thing that will work. I would love to see the EU dealing with this issue quickly but I do not believe it possible that it will do so. We cannot wait for it act. The European Commission has confirmed that there is no reason whatsoever that Ireland cannot act to deal with this issue. I did not think that needed to be confirmed but it has been. The legislation, in whatever form it takes, must deal with AI- and computer-generated images and ensure that the law is inverted such that these companies have to adhere to Irish law rather than us having to chase them. At the media committee, of which I am Cathaoirleach, we heard Gráinne Seoige's story. It was horrendous. In that situation, people have to go to An Garda Síochána and identify the person distributing these vile images. Then gardaí have to go to the person and try to get his or her phone. If people have to go to court for a court order, the judge, having weighed up the question in terms of proportionality, may decide the phone cannot be given over in view of everything else that is on it. All of this happens, and the process goes on endlessly. I have seen the correspondence to and from the big-tech company in the case I mentioned. I know what happened with An Garda Síochána and that it was not the fault of its members. We need to change the law in order that these companies are criminally liable where they allow their e-commerce platform to be used to create and-or distribute AI- or computer-generated images. We also need to deal with platforms like WhatsApp in respect of the sharing of these images. We must ensure we protect our children and all our citizens. It is absolutely incumbent on us to do so. When we challenged representatives of TikTok who appeared before the committee about what was going on, the response is one that will live with me forever. The representative said the company's goal is "minimising harm". The goal is not to prevent harm but to minimise it. As the father of a 15-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, that scared me. These companies should not be minimising harm but 100% preventing or stopping it. I have used the example of the process whereby pharmaceutical drugs are brought into the State to help people when they are ill. The drugs are analysed and go through a regulatory process overseen by the Health Products Regulatory Authority. We would not allow a drug into this country that would deliberately harm people or minimise the harm to them. We would not allow that scenario. Why are we allowing it in this instance? Is it because the whole virus of social media has gone so far and is so controlling? Is it because the companies are based here and we are dependent on their taxes? What is more important? Our duty as TDs in this House is to do two things: first, uphold the Constitution; and, second, legislate for what is right to protect our people. We are not doing the latter when it comes to this issue unless we bring in legislation to address it. As other committee members in attendance here know, Meta and TikTok refused point-blank to tell us the number of accounts registered to people aged under 16. However, this goes beyond the whole debate on whether we should ban social media for under-16s. How can we trust these companies when they will not even give us basic information like that? How can we ensure they are held accountable rather than our having to chase them? We cannot wait until the European Union catches up, which I do not believe it will do. Ireland will assume the European Presidency later this year. I accept the bona fides of the Minister and the Government on this matter. This is not an Opposition versus Government issue. It is about what is right and what can be done in a timely fashion. We must bring in legislation to deal with this matter. I am absolutely convinced of that, having dealt with the issue intimately for months. We cannot allow what is going on to keep infecting the citizens, children and adults, who are badly affected by it. We need to legislate to ensure the companies are accountable to us and we do not have to continue to chase them.

Sentiment score: 0.06