A set of “concrete proposals” being prepared by the European Commission to restrict social media access to children under 16 would be more coherent and powerful than individual states going it alone, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and president of the EU Parliament, Roberta Metsola, have said.
In a joint conference in Dublin Castle following a daylong visit by the Maltese politician to Dublin – in advance of Ireland taking over the presidency of the union from July 1st – both leaders were asked if the European Union was not doing enough to impose bans such as those already in place in Australia and the UK.
Martin said that a lot of momentum was building up in relation to a common position on restricting access to social media for teenagers, but did not say if it would be completed by the time the Irish term as president of the union came to an end on December 31st.
He said French president Emmanuel Macron had convened a meeting of leaders and that commission president Ursula von der Leyen had established a group to examine the issue.
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“We are anticipating fairly concrete proposals and ideas, and I think there is an opportunity for a European-wide position in respect of protecting children online, which I think would be quite powerful and quite impactful, if we could achieve that across the EU 27,” he said.
He said the preference would be to achieve “European consensus and a pan-European approach to protecting children online”.
Metsola said she would also like to wait for the commission’s proposal before committing to a plan. “Our wish is for us to have a coherent European approach, which gives a little bit of visibility for us as a Continent as to how rules that would gain consensus would then be rolled out,” she said.
Metsola referred to her meeting in Brussels with Jackie Fox, the Irish campaigner who campaigned against cyberbullying. It led to the enactment of “Coco’s Law” in Ireland, which has made it an offence to share or threaten to share intimate images on digital platforms.
Fox’s daughter, Nicole “Coco” Fox, died by suicide in 2018 following years of online and physical bullying.
“We had Jackie Fox in the parliament a few months ago, and her experience of pushing through local law on cyberbullying led to a unified parliament position to have that on the European level,” said Metsola.
“That is something that comes from Ireland and would be able to be done because there is a huge need for something to be done for our kids online in this regard.
Metsola referred to the Irish presidency’s emphasis on competitiveness and said that the EU Parliament was doing its part by simplifying rules and cutting bureaucratic hurdles.
“But cutting red tape is only part of the answer. We must also strengthen our single market. We have a clear plan on the table to open up opportunities and tear down barriers, which still exist in too many places across our markets. All this to ensure that we can unlock the capital that citizens need to grow and scale in Europe.”
She also said that enlargement remained Europe’s “greatest geopolitical tool” and welcomed accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, and the drafting of an accession treaty with Montenegro.
During its presidency Ireland would have “a truly unique chance to shape our next chapter by reinforcing Europe’s role in the world”, she said.
