Coimisiún na Meán, which is responsible for Ireland’s online safety framework, has opened a new online complaint system for illegal content.
It comes as the Digital Services Act (DSA) came out into effect on the weekend of February, 17th.
The EU-wide legislation regulates online services like marketplaces, social networks, app stores, and online travel and accommodation platforms.
It requires online services to take some steps to help make the internet safer for users by addressing harmful or illegal content on their sites.
The legislation will introduce rules that equally protect all users in the EU (including Ireland) both in regard to illegal goods, content or services and their fundamental rights.
Under the DSA, providers of online platforms that are accessible to minors are required to put in place appropriate measures to ensure high level of privacy, safety and security of minors on their service.
It also prohibits targeted advertising to minors based on profiling using the personal data of users of their services when they can establish with reasonable certainty that the recipient of the service is a minor.
Coimisiún na Meán are urging people to Spot it. Flag it. Stop it.
They said: "If you spot illegal content online, please report it to the online platform where you have seen it, so they can remove it. Platforms also have to remove content that breaches their own rules.
"Platforms have a legal obligation under the Digital Services Act to have rules about acceptable content and include them in their terms and conditions, or community rules. They also have to enforce these rules. They all provide mechanisms for users to report content they consider is in breach of the rules.
"Some social media platforms allow users to report misinformation or disinformation. However, misinformation or disinformation is not necessarily illegal so the obligations relating to illegal content will not apply to disinformation or misinformation unless the content is illegal for some other reason."
The large social media platforms have a duty to assess a range of risks that their services may pose.
This includes risks to civic discourse and electoral processes, to public health or to public security. They also have to implement measures to mitigate those risks. This process will cover risks posed by some types of misinformation and disinformation.
Neither Coimisiún na Meán nor any other public body has the authority to require content to be taken down, solely on the basis that the content represents misinformation or disinformation.
We welcome the application of the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) which comes fully into force in Ireland and across the EU from tomorrow. The DSA provides new rules for how online services deal with illegal content or apply their own rules.
ℹ https://t.co/Red4pZBTbP pic.twitter.com/V5PZCb8Uyw— Coimisiún na Meán (@CNaM_ie) February 16, 2024
