Joanna Byrne TD welcomes the inclusion of Sinn Féin amendments in Online Safety Report
Wednesday 13th May 2026, 11:41am
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Culture, Communications and Sport, Joanna Byrne TD, has said that the government must now drop their proposals for a social media ban for under-16s.
The Louth/East Meath TD was commenting after the Joint Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport published its report on the Regulation of online platforms and supports to improve online safety and participation.
Teachta Byrne said:
“For several months we had hearings in the committee and listened to groups that were experts in online safety. At no time during those many hearings on online safety was a social media ban for under-16s recommended by any of the expert witnesses. That is detailed in the report.
“There was a respectful and robust debate among the members who attended all the hearings on this. Even those who were dead set on having a social media ban for under-16s at the start of the process, who were there to listen to the expert witness and debate the amendments, had changed their minds by the end of the process.
“That includes all the government parties and opposition parties’ members of the committee. The government should now drop their proposal to push ahead with their proposed ban. Every cent and every minute spent on an under-16s social media ban is time and money spent on a project that will not work.
“There are several recommendations that the government should focus on to improve online safety and that includes tackling the toxic recommender algorithms and the deliberately addictive practices of online platforms. I made several recommendations in this regard, all of which were accepted by the committee and included in the report.
“There was also a focus on further resourcing and empowering Coimisiún na Meán to tackle social media companies who breach the Online Safety Code. My amendment to increase the fines and penalties that Coimisiún na Meán can levy on social media companies that breach the online safety code was also included in the report.
“In July, Ireland will take up the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Many government ministers have said that online safety, particularly for children and young people, is a top priority for Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The committee report and its recommendations, agreed by all parties, should guide this state in that endeavour, not the whims or personal projects of individual ministers.
“Ireland can use our Presidency of the Council of the European Union to change the conversation and the direction of online safety policies in a truly impactful way. We can make the changes this year that this and future generations will see the benefit of.”
