Ireland’s new media and internet regulator, Coimisiún na Meán, has released its highly anticipated Online Safety Code. The plethora of binding rules will apply to the likes of Facebook, TikTok, and X, among other tech giants, who have headquarters in Ireland. The regulations aim for full compliance with the EU’s audiovisual law. In February, Ireland was fined €2.5 million for the slow transposition of the law.
The principal objective of the new rulebook is to protect social media users from hate speech and damaging content. The new code supplements the EU’s content-moderation rules. Platforms must ban the upload and sharing of harmful content, including self-harm promotion, cyberbullying, eating disorders, and incitement to hatred and terror, to comply with the new regulation. In addition, the new rules require content-sharing platforms to offer features like successful age verification and a structured compliance system.
Protecting children online has become a top priority for European policymakers. Ireland’s new code represents the country’s stringent efforts to protect its youth from harmful digital content and limit minors’ access to adult content. Furthermore, the rules will issue guidance for users on how to report content that is inappropriate and in violation of the code.
These provisions come at an opportune moment with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen intending to launch a whole Union study into the effects of social media on the well-being of young people. Legislators in the European Parliament’s Internal Market Committee will be focusing on the issue and will produce a report on their findings while governments debate a possible minimum age for social media use and stricter enforcement of blanket blocs on adult content sites. Recent developments in Ireland and the establishment of Coimisiún na Meán show that the country is initiating progress towards creating a safer online environment for minors and towards further alignment with EU priorities. As Ireland is home to the headquarters of multiple big tech firms, it can be viewed as a leader in terms of regulation at a European level. Given this fact, it is vital that Ireland leads by example and provides Coimisiún na Meán with the necessary resources, political backing, and expertise required to fulfil the task at hand.
The code represents a commendable effort to address the circulation of content online that promotes terrorism, racism, and xenophobia. Over the past year, Ireland has witnessed the increasing presence of the far-right on social media platforms. The group’s ability to recruit, disseminate misinformation, and incite hatred and violence has grown due to the failure of platforms, particularly X, to enforce hate speech and misinformation guidelines.
Minister for Media Catherine Martin commented on the new rulebook, stating that it introduces “real accountability for online video-sharing platforms and requires them to take action to protect users”. From 19 November, compliance with the general obligations will be mandatory. Platforms must comply with the remaining rules, requiring internal system adjustments, by 21 July 2025. In addition, platforms that fail to comply with the rules will face fines of up to €20 million or 10 percent of their annual turnover, whichever is greater. However, Coimisiún na Meán will not carry out formal reviews of compliance. Instead, the organisation will vigorously monitor the platforms.
