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New Online Safety Code means onus now on Big Tech to protect our kids – this is first step in ending self-regulation era
This code finally puts the onus on social media companies to implement effective safeguarding measures.
THE first Online Safety Code has been hailed as a landmark development this week.
Media regulator Coimisiún na Meán released an updated draft that will be submitted to the European Commission for assessment.
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The final code will set binding rules for video-sharing platforms that have their EU headquarters in Ireland. It introduces obligations to protect users from harmful content.
Online safety commissioner Niamh Hodnett said: “It is essential to create a safer online world for all of us, especially for our children. This updated code is an important step forward to hold platforms to account for keeping people safe online.”
Writing in The Irish Sun on Sunday, co-founder and CEO of CyberSafeKids, Alex Cooney says the new laws are the first step to bringing the era of self-regulation to an end.
ONCE approved by the European Commission, this legally binding code will come into effect this year.
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It will apply to designated video-sharing platforms (VSPs) based in the EU, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and X, among others, all of which could face fines of up to €20million for breaching the rules.
As the first of its kind in Ireland, it is important to acknowledge the Online Safety Code as a landmark development.
While we and other online safety advocates may be quick to criticise the code’s shortcomings, we are also relieved that we are finally one step further towards ending the era of self-regulation.
For too long, these VSPs have functioned in an unregulated environment, with no meaningful accountability for the online harms or age-inappropriate content their younger users have been subjected to.
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This code finally puts the onus on social media companies to implement effective safeguarding measures.
We welcome that under this code, social media companies are obliged to actively protect children online from various types of harmful content by prohibiting users from uploading or sharing content that promotes self-harm or suicide, eating or feeding disorders and cyberbullying.
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VSPs will need to prevent the circulation of illegal content such as incitement to hatred or violence, terrorism, child sex abuse material, racism and xenophobia.
They will also have to implement age verification measures to prevent children from accessing and/or encountering pornography or gratuitous violence, with self-declaration of age long being proven to be completely inadequate.
Parental controls must also be made available and visible on all platforms.
But there are elements of the code that are simply not specific enough. We are concerned that it allows VSPs to continue to largely self-regulate. We know historically that this simply won’t work.
For example, in relation to complaints, the VSPs are required to respond to user complaints on a case-by-case basis in a “timely, diligent and objective manner”.
PHONE STATS AMONG KIDS
- Research has found 40 per cent of kids aged nine have a mobile phone
- Kids aged 8-12 can spend up to six hours per day using screens
- 79 per cent of the population of Ireland use at least one social media platform
These terms lack the specific parameters we believe are necessary.
Who and what adjudicates a “timely” or “objective manner”? If we are not specific at the outset in relation to the obligations of VSPs to respond and remove in a timely fashion, within a defined timeframe, then what difference will it make?
The code also disallows companies from processing children’s data for commercial gain.
We know from the setting of the digital age of consent in 2018 that VSPs will find ways to circumvent this. In the case of consent, a different legal basis on which to collect that data was used instead.
We acknowledge there is no silver bullet to this issue, but effective and far-reaching regulation of Big Tech is certainly part of the solution.
Reporting requirements
They’ve had years to make their online services safer for children, but the will to do so hasn’t been there.
For the first time, VSPs will have a code to which they must adhere, and are obliged to put measures and reporting requirements in place, namely parental controls that must be clearly visible and explained to all users, including children.
They must introduce content ratings whereby anyone who uploads videos can rate the content as not being suitable for children. They will also be required to publish an annual action plan outlining how they’ll promote media literacy and they must provide regular reports on how they are handling users’ complaints to Coimisiún na Meán.
‘Clock is ticking’
Education is vital. It would be absurd to think we can rely on Big Tech alone to educate families and children on parental controls and digital literacy.
While parental engagement is also crucial, we can’t leave this up to parents, who need support and upskilling as a matter of urgency.
Digital literacy should be a core part of our education system. Not doing so would amount to a grave injustice to children growing up in the digital age.
It remains to be seen how Ireland’s first Online Safety Code will be enforced and how well it will work in practice.
What will it change? We can only hope it will make a radical difference to our children’s experiences and their safety online.
We need to do everything in our power to protect children and young people online. The clock is ticking.