[Ireland] New Bill Aims to Establish Online Safety Commissioner

Ireland’s Minister of Communications has announced a new bill which would establish an Online Safety Commissioner. The main purpose of the Commissioner is to protect children from toxic behaviours (cyber bullying, which has lead to child suicide) that are prevalent online. The Online Safety Commissioner would work within a new regulatory body, the Media Commission. Its most important tasks would be 'to set safety codes for online services, audit companies, and apply "sanctions" for non-compliance'. The Commissioner would have the right to take sanctions, such as financial penalties, blocking and forcing online services to take certain actions.

Richard Burton, Ireland’s Minister of Communications, claimed that similar legislation does not exist in the EU yet, and that it could be a significant measure 'to bring legislation up-to-date with technology in Ireland'. The new bill aims to retain user’s rights of freedom of expression while also protecting them from harm. It would be enforceable for online services based in Ireland, however, the Minister suggested that 'Ireland could work within a wider network of European countries to regulate international service providers'.