Irish “Online Safety Code” Would Give Media Regulator Authority To Punish Video Platforms for Videos That “Indirectly Lead To Harm”

If you’re tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Advocacy group Free Speech Ireland has issued a “civil rights alert” as the country’s authorities are working to introduce the Irish Online Safety Code – that seems to be, at least in part, inspired by the UK’s hugely controversial Online Safety Act. For example, although at first glance much smaller in scope, one point from the proposal is reminiscent of the Online Safety Act’s “legal but harmful” doctrine – it is punishing online platforms, specifically video ones, for content that “indirectly leads to harm.” One of the ways such harm would be interpreted is even if a video does not contain content of the kind – comments to it are branded as “hateful.” In other words, it’s a platform liability for third-party content. The regulation would treat it as “indissociable from user-generated videos.” One of the consequences is absurd – as Free Speech Ireland notes, to protect themselves, video platforms would have to “censor user content that is not even regarded as ‘harmful’ under the Code.” The rules, if adopted, would be enforced by a regulator known in Irish as Coimisiún na Meán (CnaM, “Media Commission”). Free Speech Ireland explains that CnaM has received the blessing to introduce the regulation both from the Irish government, and the EU. Age verification is also baked into the plans. The targeted sites, known as Video-Sharing Platform Services (VSPS), include YouTube, X, and Facebook, and this particular regulation…Irish “Online Safety Code” Would Give Media Regulator Authority To Punish Video Platforms for Videos That “Indirectly Lead To Harm”