In regard to the portrayal of violence that may be broadcast in Ireland, under section 42 of the Broadcasting Act 2009, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), as an independent regulator, is required to make codes governing the standards and practices to be observed by broadcasters. The Code of Programme Standards developed by the BAI pursuant to section 42 of the Broadcasting Act 2009 sets out that broadcasters should exercise due care in broadcasting depictions and/or descriptions of violence in programme material. The Code also sets out that broadcasters shall have due regard to the appropriateness of and/or justification for the inclusion of violent content in programme material.
In regard to the portrayal of violence through social media and audiovisual-on-demand media services, the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022 will establish Coimisiún na Meán as a multi-person Media Commission to include an Online Safety Commissioner. It will dissolve the BAI, establish regulatory frameworks for online safety and the regulation of audiovisual media services, and transpose the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive.
The Bill will also amend and extend the duties, codes and rules currently applicable to broadcasters under the Broadcasting Act 2009 to audiovisual-on-demand media services. Accordingly, the Bill will empower Coimisiún na Meán to make codes governing the standards and practices to be observed by both broadcasters and audiovisual-on-demand media services. Under the Bill, An Coimisiún may, in particular, make codes to ensure that programme material relating to gratuitous violence or sexual conduct is presented with due sensitivity to the convictions or feelings of the audience and in such a way that children will not normally hear or see anything which may impair their physical, mental or moral development.
It will be the role of the Online Safety Commissioner to oversee the regulatory framework for online safety. As part of the framework, the Commissioner will devise binding online safety codes that will set out how designated online services, including social media services, are expected to deal with certain defined categories of harmful online content on their platforms. Among other categories of content, online safety codes will ensure that designated online services take appropriate measures to reduce the availability of offence-specific online content and cyber-bullying material on their services. The full list of offence-specific online content is set out in section 45 of the Bill and includes, for example, relevant offences under Coco’s Law, or the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020. In the case of Coco's Law, it is intended that this will have the effect of reducing the availability, on designated online services, of intimate images which have been shared without consent and of threatening or grossly offensive communications about, or to, another person.
In addition to instances of cyber-bullying which would be considered as offence-specific harmful online content, the online safety codes will also address serious cyber-bullying material which is not related to a criminal offence. In contrast to the category relating to offence-specific online content, the non offence-specific categories of content will be subject to a risk of harm test. Accordingly, such content will only be considered harmful online content under the Bill where it gives rise to any risk to a person’s life, or a risk of significant harm to a person’s physical or mental health.
Under the Bill, in the event of a failure to comply with a relevant online safety code, and subject to Court approval, Coimisiún na Meán will have the power to sanction non-compliant online services, including through financial sanctions of up to €20 million or 10% of turnover. Finally, the Bill will also allow the An Coimisiún to create non-binding guidance materials for providers of relevant online services. Such guidance materials may seek to protect children in particular, but also the general public, from harmful online content and age-inappropriate online content. The Bill provides for a definition of age-inappropriate online content which includes, in particular, content which consists of realistic representations of gross or gratuitous violence or acts of cruelty.
