These amendments would require an coimisiún to have regard to a number of legislative instruments when designating a relevant online service to which online safety codes may be applied. Amendment No. 166 would appear to duplicate provisions already in law and, as such, I do not accept the amendment. As I stated earlier in this debate, section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 provides that a public body shall have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, promote equality of opport…

Amendment No. 169 would have the effect of requiring coimisiún na meán to deposit a record of consultations undertaken prior to the designation of a relevant online service with the Minister and to lay it before the Houses of the Oireachtas. I understand amendment No. 71 sought to achieve a similar effect. As referenced by the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, in response to that amendment, it is not usual practice to lay internal records of the processes and activities of public bodies before the Oireachtas, nor…

As I said in relation to the principle of transparency, when it comes to the making of the media service codes and rules and the online safety codes, they are subject to a clear public consultation process and must be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas so I see that transparency there. The regulator by its very nature must be able to engage on an ongoing basis with the entities it regulates, without an unnecessary or undue administrative burden. There are practical considerations here. We have struck the righ…

In compelling an coimisiún to make online safety codes, amendment No. 171 would have the effect of limiting the discretion of an coimisiún in when and how it exercises its regulatory duties through the creation of online safety codes. I refer to our debate yesterday, which was on the similar subject of media service codes. I reiterate that the purpose of establishing the independent regulatory body of an coimisiún under this Bill is to delegate the exercise of powers from the Oireachtas to that body in accordance w…

I recognise the objective behind these amendments, which is to specify that an coimisiún may protect the health of children by regulating, through online safety codes, commercial communications relating to certain products, including foods high in fat, sugar and salt, as well as alcohol and gambling products. In this regard, I note that an coimisiún already has this power under the Bill and, in particular, in relation to the regulation of commercial communications on video sharing platform services, which must abid…

I still believe that we are dealing with different regulators. The use of personal data of children is subsection (3) of the amendment. It is worthy of attention and concern, but it is a matter for the Data Protection Commission. The regulator that we are setting up in this Bill deals with content regulation and not data protection. This is an issue for the Department of Justice and for the Data Protection Commission, so I am not accepting this amendment.

I cannot accept this amendment. As I said previously, it would have the effect of limiting the discretion of an coimisiún in when and how it exercises regular duties through the creation of online safety codes. I have explained my reason for not accepting amendments of this kind in previous discussions around amendments grouped with amendments Nos. 133 and 171. I am not proposing to accept this amendment either.

In the first instance, I would suggest that amendments Nos. 179 and 180 would be more appropriate to amending section 139M of the Bill, rather than amending section 139K. Amending section 139M already provides for a range of matters that an coimisiún must have regard to when preparing online safety codes. On the intention behind amendment No. 179, and in the first instance, the proposed inclusion of section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 is a matter which must be considered by an coim…

Amendment No. 183a provides that an coimisiún should have an online safety code requiring that designated online services seek to minimise the risk of harm arising from the spread of disinformation. I do not propose to accept the amendment for a number of reasons. Regarding disinformation, this kind of content is being tackled, as has been acknowledged by the Senator, on an EU-wide basis through a number of mechanisms. These include the Digital Services Act, DSA, on which political agreement was reached on 22 April…

To clarify, the purpose of the Bill is not to implement the DSA regulation in Irish law but, among other things, to create a regulatory framework for online safety and to establish a regulator to enforce that framework. The Government has decided, as I said, that coimisiún na meán will be the digital services co-ordinator under the DSA and that further legislation will be brought forward to provide for that and build upon the regulatory framework for online safety in that respect. My officials are part of a working…

To clarify, an coimisiún will not have a role in the investigation or prosecution of individuals for offences specified in the criminal code. That is the role of An Garda Síochána. The role of an coimisiún is to implement a regulatory framework to minimise the availability of online content by which those offences listed in Schedule 3 to the 2009 Act, as inserted by the Bill, can be committed. The effect of this amendment would be to require that an coimisiún determines whether aspects of the regulatory framework a…

I thank the Senator for the amendment. The purpose of the Bill is not to prohibit the use of technologies by providers of designated online services and, accordingly, I cannot accept the amendment . The technologies referenced by this amendment have legitimate uses. In particular, the reference to “encryption backdoors” would appear to prohibit the use of any encryption which is not end - to-end encryption by a provider of a private communications or online storage service. This would be highly disproportionate. It…

I wish to clarify for the Senator that videoconferencing is included in the Bill but it will not be covered by the Digital Services Act.

I note the points the Senator has made in respect of the Digital Services Act. As she will be aware, the Digital Services Act, which is a proposed regulation rather than a directive of the EU, is currently under negotiation between the EU institutions. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is leading on this. The Digital Services Act, as a horizontal legislative instrument, will address a wide range of issues, from illegal and harmful online content to consumer rights issues such as availability of ill…

I thank the Senators for their proposed amendments. Amendments Nos. 123 and 125 would specifically insert references to substitutes for breast milk or milk-based formulae into section 46N(5). This would make explicit the power of coimisiún na meán to prohibit commercial communications relating to infant and follow-on formulae in the context of media service codes. I recognise the intention of the amendments and understand the concerns the Senators have regarding the advertisement of infant and follow-on formulae. T…

I thank the Senators for the points they have made. As set out in the Bill, I would expect that an coimisiún will have a strong role to play in providing for standards and practices to ensure that commercial communications protect the interests of the audience and, in particular, the interests of children. An coimisiún will do so through the making of binding media service codes. The existing general commercial communications code which applies to broadcasters will remain in force until amended or revoked by an coi…

I thank the Leader for requesting this opportunity. As she said, amendment No. 106 was not discussed in the Chamber. This amendment raises an important issue. Conversion therapy is an abhorrent practice and the programme for Government contains a commitment to legislate to ban that therapy. My colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, has been leading on this issue. My intention was to reject the amendment today but consider the matter before Report Stage. I…

I do not intend to accept any of these amendments. Amendment No. 110 provides that the media service codes made under section 46N shall be subject to approval by the Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media. I cannot accept this amendment because it would represent undue interference in the regulatory independence of the commission. It is a key principle that the commission should be able to make regulatory decisions free from external interference, particularly from political bodies, as is requir…

I still do not intend to accept the amendments. I am advised that amendments Nos. 109 and 111 would have the effect of limiting the discretion of the coimisiún in how and when it exercises its regulatory duties through the creation of media service codes.

I thank the Senator for bringing this amendment forward. I very much welcome the intent behind it. The amendment sets out that an coimisiún may, through media service codes, set air play quotas in relation to music content composed or performed by women or persons living on the island of Ireland. In this regard, I am strongly supportive of the promotion of Irish music on our broadcasting services, and in particular the promotion of Irish music composed or performed by women. Ireland has a strong and vibrant music s…