The ISPCC Appears Before The Joint Oireachtas Committee On Communications, Climate Action And Environment On The Detailed Scrutiny Of The Digital Safety Commissioner Bill 2017

The ISPCC has appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment on the Detailed Scrutiny of the Digital Safety Commissioner Bill 2017. The bill proposes to establish a Digital Safety Commissioner and provide for its various functions, including for oversight and regulation for removal of harmful communications. The bill was introduced by Sinn Féin’s Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoighaire on the back of a recommendation in the Law Reform Commission’s 2016 report on Harmful Communications and Digital Safety. Some legal and jurisdictional issues have been cited, some of which have currently been referred to the office of the Attorney General. The bill appears to have broad cross-party support which is welcome. The ISPCC is all too familiar with children’s experiences of when something goes wrong online and they feel the situation is out of their control to manage. The ISPCC supports a more robust model of regulation over the current regime of self-regulation and is supportive of the intentions of the bill. We look forward to the bill working its way through the various stages.

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