Social media giant Meta must be challenged for failing to stop the amplification of homophobic and racist posts on its social networking site Facebook, the Dáil has been told.
Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne expressed “deep concern” about Facebook, which he said “used to be very much a community space for those who identified as LGBT to be able to come together. However, we are now seeing hate, and particularly homophobia, discrimination and racism, being amplified.”
He said every time he reports hate speech, “Facebook has been against the community guidelines that are set out. In the last year or two, in every single case, Facebook is upholding it (the hateful comments).”
The Wicklow-Wexford TD was speaking on Wednesday during a debate marking June as Pride month.
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Warning of the need to challenge Meta, Byrne said if Facebook participated in the Pride parade in Dublin this weekend, “they need to look at themselves and ask what are they doing as a company to be able to tackle this. Facebook, which was always an inclusive and welcoming space, in my view, has now gone nearly as bad as X in terms of fostering division and hatred.”
Labour TD Conor Sheehan warned of the difficulties for young people coming out as gay.
“The world is getting more dangerous for LGBT people, including here in Ireland,” he said.
“Homophobia is on the rise again. Transphobia is, unfortunately, becoming more and more normalised. It has even come into this House,” he said of the Dáil.
“People who I would think are otherwise totally reasonable on loads of issues have said things on the record in this House, jollied up as concerns that are in effect transphobic and dehumanising.”
He said any time he talks about these issues on social media, he gets a “plethora” of “horrible” comments in response.
The Limerick TD said, while it did not particularly bother him, “I know there is some young boy or young girl out there in this country at the moment who probably thinks they are better off being dead than being LGBT”.
Minister of State at the Department of Children Emer Higgins said progress was being made in transgender healthcare, with work “well under way to improve services”, including the development of an updated clinical model of care.
She said a working group had been established to develop this with a clear focus on delivering more “joined up, accessible care”.
Higgins said “we are also continuing to focus on challenging stigma and raising awareness” of HIV with a campaign on TV, radio and online channels, which “is helping to build understanding and create a more supportive and informed society”.
Social Democrats’ health spokesman Pádraig Rice rejected the Minister’s claims.
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“We have the worst trans healthcare in all of Europe,” he said. The “lived reality for trans and non-binary and intersex people in this country” is often about trying to access basic healthcare.
He said the HIV campaign “is certainly good” but “the Government has given up on its target of ending HIV transmissions by 2030. It has admitted it’s not going to get there. That is not an achievement.”
“We know what needs to be done but the Government is not committing to it and is utterly failing. It’s deeply frustrating to have members of Government come in here and call these achievements when they are utterly failing to make progress on crucial issues.”
Rice also pointed to the delay in achieving the commitment in the 2020 programme for government to ban conversion practices. “Eight other countries have done this across Europe,” he said. “We can look at what other countries did and implement it here.”
Sinn Féin’s Máire Devine described the State’s transgender healthcare as “a mess. Trans people deserve care based on international best practice. Everybody has the right to safety, integrity of identity and happiness. Conversion therapy, which is abhorrent and has inflicted so much suffering, is another breach of human rights.”
