Ireland must show leadership and get young people off “toxic” social media platforms, a Government backbencher has said.
Albert Dolan (27), Fianna Fáil’s youngest TD, said it was time for the authorities to “step up and say ‘let’s protect our young people, let’s get them off these toxic platforms’.”
The Galway East TD was speaking during a debate on a People Before Profit Bill that would ban social media recommender algorithms, which suggest content to users, for people aged under 18.
Dolan said people could get drawn down “a rabbit hole” by what they saw online and the farther down “the more dangerous it gets because it pushes you to more extreme points of view”.
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He said this was “what holds” some users on websites and platforms and that “parents haven’t a clue” because they did not grow up in such a world.
He said an expert on digital matters had sold out 10 halls in Galway East with sessions aimed at educating parents about “what is actually happening on the phones of their teenagers”.
He called on the Government to support the education of parents so they could “help put safeguards in place for their own children” and have “open and honest conversations” with them about the material they were being exposed to.
Dolan said Australia showed leadership in banning social media for under 16s, France followed suit and it was time for Ireland to “step up”.
Plans for such an approach have been discussed by Ministers but no legislation is being prepared and a pilot scheme is expected to run before any ban is introduced.
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said the party’s Bill would not ban under-16s from social media but aimed to turn off the toxic content to which they could be exposed by “recommender algorithm systems”.
“Adults can choose to opt in if the algorithm is explained in a transparent way,” but it would be turned off “permanently” for under 18s, he said of the proposed measure.
Recommender algorithms profile internet users based on their age, profile and social media use, and direct them to content, which can be extreme, racist or pornographic.
The Dublin South-West TD claimed a ban on social media recommender algorithms for under-18s was removed from Ireland’s online safety code “because big tech lobbied”.
He said the issue was creating a “huge mental health crisis amongst young people in particular, but in society at large it’s driving a process of alienation, all for profit of these major social media companies”.
He claimed “this is why the Government is opposing a measure to protect the health and safety of children”.
“The parallels with big tobacco are clear in the damage to young people,” he said, adding that social media companies know the impact their platforms are having.
Murphy accused the Government of putting all the “responsibility on individual users and on parents who are completely overwhelmed by all of this”.
Minister for Communications Patrick O’Donovan said “issues around recommender systems can and are being addressed”. He said media regulator Coimisiún na Meán “is now firmly established in the hearts of Ireland’s online safety framework”.
He pointed to a European Commission investigation into, and findings against, TikTok, including its recommender systems, and said inquiries were continuing into a number of other platforms.
He said it would not be “appropriate to look to amend our own legislation in this respect” at a time when regulations and legislation are being implemented.
He said the EU’s Digital Services Act required platforms “to mitigate the risks and also improve and enhance the recommender system”.
