“Nothing changes” when social media companies are hauled in front of Oireachtas committees, Gibney says

Repeatedly hauling social media companies before Oireachtas committees will not deal with the underlying causes of harmful online content, according to Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney.

The Dublin Rathdown TD was speaking after TikTok representatives outlined their policies around the posting of illegal, criminal behaviour.

The company claimed that they had removed thousands of videos promoting risky driving in the first half of this year, but said in so many words they can only moderate so much and that certain videos will slip through the cracks.

“That all sounds good on paper, but the reality is that harmful content is prolific across social media platforms and can result in devastating real-life consequences,” Gibney said.

“Content glorifying and encouraging violence and illegal behaviour is nothing new. There are whole subcultures and communities that glorify school shooters and mass murderers online,” she noted.

The Soc Dems TD said “there has been flashpoint after flashpoint, where social media platforms have been used to instigate and inflame incidents like the Dublin and Belfast riots. While automated takedown stats might sound reassuring, they don’t stand up to scrutiny.”

Gibney, who was head of social action at Google prior to her career in politics, said “it is clear that the business model of these companies – including the use of recommender algorithms and a fundamentally unsafe design – has contributed to violent and criminal incidents.”

“A system designed to prioritise engagement that is neutral to sinister motivation will always lead to the spread of harmful content.

Gibney stated, “I’m sick of seeing social media companies hauled in front of the Oireachtas Media Committee every few months after some horrific incident has occurred, only for nothing to change.”

“We need proper regulation and for these platforms to be held responsible for the dangerous and damaging content they push onto our screens,” she said.