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

The meeting at 12.30pm in Committee Room 3 of Leinster House will discuss the definition of harmful content and related matters with the following stakeholders:

·         Representatives from the Irish Heart Foundation;

·         Dr Norah Campbell, Associate Professor in Marketing at Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin;

·         Representatives from the Advertising Standards Authority For Ireland; and

·         Representatives from Epilepsy Ireland.

Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Niamh Smyth said: “It is critical that ‘harmful content’ is clearly defined in this legislation so that it can be effectively regulated and young and vulnerable people protected from such content. The Committee looks forward to hearing from our stakeholders on this and related matters as we continue our pre-legislative scrutiny of this important 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 Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media has 14 Members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.

The meeting in 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.