Fianna Fáil TD Ryan O’Meara, has called for a “clear and accessible way” for parents to switch off personalised social media recommendations on their children’s accounts.
His call follows the European Commission’s publication of the proposed EU KIDS Act on 17 September, which would introduce ‘safety by design’ by creating new restrictions on children’s access to social media, strengthening protections against potentially harmful algorithms and providing for greater parental supervision.
The proposal comes amid wider international efforts to regulate social media algorithms. Earlier this month, Australia published draft legislation that would require social media platforms to give users a choice between personalised recommendations and content from accounts they follow.
The Tipperary North TD said, “parents are rightly concerned about the endless stream of content being pushed towards children based on what keeps them watching, clicking and scrolling.”
“I believe parents should have a straightforward way to switch off personalised recommendations on their child’s social media account,” he said.
“We should not accept a situation where a parent can put restrictions on screen time but has little control over the system deciding what content is repeatedly placed in front of their child.”
The Fianna Fáil education spokesperson said, “if we are to achieve significant change in this area, we cannot approach it alone. We need to work at European level to introduce a common standard that gives parents greater control.”
Under the existing EU Digital Services Act, very large online platforms are already required to offer users at least one recommendation option that is not based on profiling.
“There has been progress through the Digital Services Act, and the proposed EU KIDS Act is another significant development, but these protections need to be simple and accessible.
“A parent should not have to search through layers of settings or understand the technical workings of a platform to protect their child,” he said.
Research published by Coimisiún na Meán on 10 September, which found that 69% of children surveyed believed teaching young people how to stay safe online would be better than banning social media. Almost half of parents and caregivers surveyed, 49%, also favoured online safety education over a ban.
The research further found that 33% of children had experienced something online that upset them in the previous year, rising to 46% among 16 and 17-year-olds.
“Personalised algorithms can repeatedly expose children to harmful or inappropriate content by recommending more of what they watch, click on or engage with,” O’Meara said.
Despite O’Meara’s calls to limit social media algorithms, it appears his ideas have no purchase within Fianna Fáil itself.
Earlier this year, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael rejected a Dáil motion from People Before Profit which would have turned off “recommender algorithms,” similar to what O’Meara is describing.