The State could \u201cnationalise\u201d online platforms and use them to promote \u201cwhatever we choose\u201d, an Irish \u2018online safety\u2019 committee has heard.<\/p>\n
The remarks were made this week at a Joint Oireachtas Committee meeting convened to discuss \u201conline safety\u201d, particularly the abuse of AI models such as Grok, the tool linked to Elon Musk\u2019s social media platform X.<\/p>\n
Notably, it recently came to light that the AI tool was being used to create images of children and unconsenting women in bikinis at the request of users.<\/p>\n
Platform owner Elon Musk has condemned such activity, stating that users responsible will be prosecuted and limiting the tool\u2019s capacity to create such images for unverified users.<\/p>\n
NATIONALISE SOCIAL MEDIA AND USE ALGORITHMS TO PUSH GOVERNMENT AGENDA<\/p>\n
Speaking during the meeting, Social Democrats TD Sinead Gibney, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on communications and a committee member, said that \u201cnationalising\u201d online platforms would allow the State to use social media algorithms to promote \u201cwhatever we choose to do\u201d.<\/p>\n
She said that she felt it was a \u201clow ambition\u201d to simply turn of recommender algorithms, and that they should instead be utilised by the State to advance its own goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI raised this recently with some witnesses in one of our December meetings and I was somewhat ridiculed for suggesting that we might, for example, consider at some stage the nationalisation of online platforms,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She argued that while private company\u2019s algorithms are aimed at keeping users\u2019 attention for \u201cprofit\u201d, a publicly owned platform could push ideas that were in the \u201cpublic interest\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we had an ability to exert public interest on those algorithms, we could flip the entire online space on its head,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could have it designed to promote social cohesion, lifelong learning, mental health well-being \u2013 whatever we choose to do \u2013 and allow the tech companies to work within that framework. Is that something the witnesses would ridicule, and do they think that is viable?\u201d<\/p>\n
Edel McGinley, Executive Director of the NGO the \u2018Hope and Courage Collective\u2019, responding as a witness, replied that \u201cIt would be lovely to go back to the old days of when the Internet and social media delivered for us all. Maybe there is a world where we can go back to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
IRELAND SHOULD TAKE ON TECH GIANTS, EVEN IF IT IMPACTS THE IRISH ECONOMY<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, committee chairman Alan Kelly TD of the Labour Party said that Ireland should potentially go out on a limb outside of EU law, even if it risks damaging the Irish economy by taking on tech giants alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not sure we can wait for European law or regulatory processes to catch up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have such a diverse Europe at present with different views. If we need to fall foul for the betterment of our own society, as a test case let us do it. Maybe that is where we have to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cMaybe we have to go through a whole process of changing how we deal with these companies, and dare I say it, it may have other impacts on us economically and so forth, but we have to do the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that Ireland\u2019s response to the AI and tech issue \u201ccould be one of the most important reports any Oireachtas committee has ever done,\u201d and that \u201cthere is certainly a way in which we can influence not just across the EU but potentially across the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
NO NEW LEGISLATION NEEDED TO DEAL WITH HATE SPEECH OR DISINFORMATION, GARDA\u00cd SAY<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Garda Detective Chief Superintendent Barry Walsh said that the police did not need any new legislation to deal with hate speech or disinformation that leads to real life violence.<\/p>\n
During the discussion, Sinn F\u00e9in TD Joanna Byrne asked about the police\u2019s ability to tackle such issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Walsh spoke about misinformation, disinformation and hate speech that has resulted in violence on our streets, which we are all very aware of,\u201d Byrne said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat has become par for the course in recent months when there is a resistance to something. Has An Garda spoken to, suggested or proposed possible new laws with the relevant Government agencies that it may see are required to tackle that? Is Mr. Walsh confident the legislation is there at the moment to arm and equip An Garda to be able to deal with that situation?\u201d<\/p>\n
The Garda replied that the existing powers were adequate.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na\u2019s perspective, we have said consistently that we have not
seen any lack of legislation to enable us to enforce that and to deal with the issues
that are arising,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
PROTECTING \u201cVULNERABLE PEOPLE\u201d IS \u201cMUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN FREEDOM OF SPEECH\u201d<\/p>\n
Fianna F\u00e1il TD Alison Comyn explicitly stated that protecting \u201cvulnerable people is much more important than freedom of speech.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel there should be no anonymity allowed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe protection of minors and vulnerable people is much more important than freedom of
speech. Should these platforms be offering anonymity? It is very difficult for the Garda
to prosecute.\u201d<\/p>\n
COMMITTEE MEMBERS COMPLAIN THAT VPNs ALLOW USERS TO EVADE REGULATION<\/p>\n
Committee members also complained that tools such as VPNs would allow users to evade whatever domestic regulation was passed, asking whether such technologies could be stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnonymity and privacy are big issues for us,\u201d said Garda Detective Chief Superintendent Barry Walsh.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are on record consistently as saying that. It is something that is subject to increased lobbying. In respect of the child sexual abuse directive, there is consistent lobbying going on in that area. It is hard to understand how protection of vulnerable people online trumps privacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI fully respect people\u2019s right to privacy. They have an absolute right to privacy. In terms of
protecting children online, again I am consistent in this, it is an environment that is
very scary for a lot of people. There is a lot of age-inappropriate content available to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that VPNs created a \u201ccomplication\u201d when it came to regulation.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, the use of VPNs creates a complication,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of privacy oriented tools such as the likes of messaging apps with end-to-end encryption. It creates huge difficulty for us. That is the reality of the situation and it can act as a really insurmountable barrier to prosecution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fianna F\u00e1il TD Peter \u201cChap\u201d Cleere lamented the use of VPNs, asking if there was a way to prevent their usage.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll they do is go on to this VPN app, change their location to Ireland or whatever
country \u2013 it could be Japan, America or wherever,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just absolutely does not make sense. Is there anything we can do to stop that practice happening? We can put all the safeguards and all the regulation in the world in place but, Jesus, if these things are allowed to happen, it makes a mockery of all the regulation we are going to put in place and we are going around in circles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Committee chairman Alan Kelly replied: \u201c\u2018No\u2019 is the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFAR-RIGHT\u201d ARE \u201cGAMING THE SYSTEM\u201d<\/p>\n
The Committee also heard from Hope and Courage Collective coordinator and activist Niamh McDonald, who said that \u201cbad-faith actors, anti-immigrant actors, far right people, conspiracy theory people, neo-Nazis and white supremacists have figured out how to game the system\u201d of social media and are getting traction via the algorithm, which she wanted to combat.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Green Party Senator Malcolm Noonan said that political leaders \u201cbear some
responsibility\u201d for arson attacks seen at IPAS centres around the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe case of Drogheda was mentioned and the anti-immigrant narratives that are being put out, not just by local politicians but sometimes within Government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe our messaging as political leaders is vital. I wanted to make note of that comment because it is critically important here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noonan also said that officials at companies should face \u201ccustodial sentences\u201d to stop abuses on their platforms.<\/p>\n
Fine Gael TD Brian Brennan slammed tech leaders who own these platforms, saying that they are \u201csitting in their lofty towers who are consumed by commercial greed and have zero moral responsibility. This must be called out for what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The State could \u201cnationalise\u201d online platforms and use them to promote \u201cwhatever we choose\u201d, an Irish \u2018online safety\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246848,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[220,14258,3584,4069,42,43,42637,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-246847","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-ben-scallan","10":"tag-coimisiun-na-mean","11":"tag-grok","12":"tag-headlines","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-online-safety","15":"tag-top-news","16":"tag-top-stories","17":"tag-topnews","18":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}