Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht to discuss Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020 with Child Protection stakeholders

Tomorrow, Wednesday, 13 May, the meeting at 12.30pm in Committee Room 1 of Leinster House will hear from:

• Representatives from The Ombudsman for Children's Office;
• Professor Conor O'Mahony, Special Rapporteur on Child Protection; and
• Representatives from the National Bullying Centre and Institute of Future Media Democracy and Security (FuJo) in Dublin City University.

The following day, Thursday, 13 May, the meeting at 12.30pm in Committee Room 3 will hear from:

• Representatives from the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC);
• Representatives from CyberSafeKids; and
• Representatives from Children's Rights Alliance.

Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Niamh Smyth said: “The legislation proposes the appointment of an Online Safety Commissioner as part of a wider Media Commission to oversee the new regulatory framework for online safety. Children and young people can be exposed to cruel and harmful bullying online, which can in some cases lead to tragic loss of life. The Committee looks forward to hearing the views of our stakeholders who work in the area of child protection on this Bill.”

The General Scheme of the Bill was published in December 2020 by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and consists of three general themes:

• Parts 2 and 3: The establishment of the Media Commission and dissolution of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland;
• Part 4: Online Safety; and
• Parts 5 and 6: On-Demand Audiovisual Services and miscellaneous provisions regarding the transposition of the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive.

The Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht has 14 Members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.

The meetings in Committee Room 1 and Committee Room 3 can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.