Regulator 'in contact with several online platforms' over Citywest rioting
Media regulator Coimisiún na Meán says it has asked the various social media platforms what “measures” were taken in relation to rioting in Citywest.
The regulator said it has been “in contact with several online platforms” as of Wednesday afternoon “to understand the measures they took in relation to this incident and to encourage them to continue to monitor the situation”.
Six people were arrested and five men charged in the wake of the 90-minute riot outside an IPAS centre in the west Dublin locality on Tuesday evening, with those events coordinated in advance as a ‘protest’ across social media platforms like Telegram and WhatsApp.
The violent scenes which ensued saw a Garda public order van set alight while gardaí were attacked with bricks and bottles by the roughly 1,000 people present.
Coimisiún na Meán has made no secret in recent times of its intention to take a stronger stand against big tech companies which may have been neglecting their responsibilities in terms of moderating hateful content on their platforms.
It is unclear what action, if any, the regulator will take against any platform in terms of the buildup to the antisocial behaviour at Citywest, though a spokesperson noted that the agency is “continuing to liaise with An Garda Síochána”.
They noted that the commission’s online safety framework, the regulatory regime for online safety, has been in place since July of this year, and that Coimisiún na Meán is “supervising online platforms established in Ireland” in terms of their compliance or otherwise with the framework.
For larger platforms there is “an obligation to risk assess their services to identify and mitigate any potential systemic risks they present, including to public security”.Protesters throw fireworks at gardai in Saggart, as disturbances flared outside Citywest Hotel.
Asked what levels of complaints from the public the commission had received in relation to the riot, the spokesperson said that “we would encourage any user who sees illegal or harmful content online to report it first to the platform where they saw it, and to contact Coimisiún na Meán if the platform does not respond”.
A query as to what expedited action the commission may take in response to the online behaviours surrounding the riot’s buildup was not directly addressed.
Coimisiún na Meán has the power to levy massive fines on online platforms which host content glorifying terrorism, and the ability to ensure the speedy removal of terrorist content online once removal orders are handed down by An Garda Síochána.
Those regulations apply to material shared online that directly or indirectly advocates for the commission of terrorism offences.
Such material includes the glorification of terrorist acts, soliciting others to contribute towards offences, or to directly participate or aid in the activities of terrorist groups.
The scale of the fines which are within the commission’s power to hand down stand at up to 4% of global turnover for any corporate found to have infringed the EU Terrorism Online Regulation.
