logo
Age checks to be enforced on video sharing platforms from July

Age checks to be enforced on video sharing platforms from July

RTÉ News​26-06-2025
Video sharing platforms based in Ireland will face new regulatory obligations to verify users' ages before showing adult content from July, according to Coimisiún na Meán's Online Safety Commissioner.
Speaking on Prime Time, Niamh Hodnett said the commission will be "supervising" the platforms to "see what measures have they put in place" from 21 July.
The new measures are part of Coimisiún na Meán's Online Safety Code, which requires that platforms hosting pornographic or violent material ensure such content is not accessible without robust age checks.
Platforms "have an obligation in relation to age assurance and also parental controls as well as content rating," Ms Hodnett said.
"What we require from the July date is either age estimation or age verification, and it has to be effective," Ms Hodnett said.
"To date, all the measures have been self-declaration... That's not an effective form of age assurance or age verification."
Ms Hodnett also outlined several approaches that could meet the new standards.
"That could be done by facial recognition, for example, or cognitive skills, or capacity testing - a maths or puzzle skill or something like that. It can also be done by hard age verification... uploading IDs, whether they're digital IDs or actual copies of passports or driver's licenses."
The Commission will not mandate any specific technology, but Ms Hodnett said the systems must be "robust, privacy-respecting, and holding data for no longer than it is necessary".
Concerns around privacy were also addressed. Ms Hodnett explained that age verification could be handled through secure intermediaries, not directly by the platforms themselves.
"It can be provided to an API or almost like a middleman," she said. "That would just give a signal or a token to the platform as to yes or no, that person is over 18. You wouldn't be sharing your passport or your driver's license with the particular platform... these interfaces or these APIs can just give that signal, and that can be done in a privacy-compliant way."
The Commissioner confirmed Ireland is working with European and UK regulators to align age assurance standards. "Together with the European Commission and fellow regulators across the EU... and our colleagues in Ofcom in the UK... it's all coming together this year in relation to effective age assurance."
She also pointed to the EU's planned digital identity wallet, which is expected to launch by the end of 2026, with a test version available later this year. The system will allow users to verify their age without sharing personal identification with platforms.
While age verification has dominated headlines, Ms Hodnett was clear that it is only one part of Ireland's broader online safety strategy.
"It's not the silver bullet to solve all problems of online safety in this space," she said.
"There are other measures that we require in our code, such as effective parental controls... restrictions on who can contact a child or whose content can be seen in relation to a child, because we're concerned also about grooming and child sex abuse material."
Asked whether stricter enforcement could drive young users toward the dark web, Ms Hodnett acknowledged the risk but said public education was also key.
"We provide tools and information on our website...guidance for parents, for children, indeed for all of us," she said.
"We also have education materials that we shared with every school in the country."
The first enforcement deadline under the Online Safety Code begins 21 July, when granular requirements for age assurance and other safety measures come into force.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Uber will give women in US a choice to only travel with other women - but no plans to do it in Ireland
Uber will give women in US a choice to only travel with other women - but no plans to do it in Ireland

The Journal

time2 days ago

  • The Journal

Uber will give women in US a choice to only travel with other women - but no plans to do it in Ireland

UBER IS INTRODUCING a feature in some US cities that will enable women to ask to only be paired with drivers who are also women – but has no plans to bring the measure to Ireland. The ride-sharing company announced this week that it is piloting a feature called 'Women Preferences' in three US cities in the coming weeks. The function will allow women using the app – both passengers and drivers – to request to only be matched with other women on trips. The pilot will start with Los Angeles, San Francisco and Detroit, with intentions to expand further across the US. Several dozen countries (Ireland isn't one of them) already have an option in the app for women drivers to request to only be paired with other women as passengers, but this will be the first time that passengers have the option. In a statement to The Journal , Uber said it does not currently plan to introduce the feature in Ireland. 'This is just a US product,' a spokesperson said. More choice. More control. Women told us they wanted the option to be matched with other women—and we listened. Now, after piloting these features in dozens of countries, we're bringing Women Preferences to the US. 🙋‍♀️ Riders can choose a woman driver 🚘 Drivers get more… — Uber (@Uber) July 23, 2025 Advertisement Other taxi apps operating in Ireland include Freenow and Bolt. Freenow is being acquired by Lyft, another taxi app, which has a similar feature in the US called Women+ Connect. In a statement to The Journal, Freenow Ireland General Manager, Danny O'Gorman said that Women+ Connect has been 'well received in the US' and it is 'currently evaluating whether and how similar features could be relevant for European markets'. 'Supporting passenger and driver safety is a key priority for Freenow, and we are committed to providing safe and reliable service to app users through safety features like 'Share your trip', which allows the trip to be shared with friends or family,' O'Gorman said. 'Taxi drivers in Ireland are regulated by the National Transport Authority and require full vetting by An Garda Síochána before obtaining their taxi licence,' he said. Bolt, which has a feature in some countries for passengers called 'Women for Women', said that it keeps the available locations under review but that there are barriers in the industry to growing the number of women working as taxi drivers. Kimberly Hurd, Bolt's Senior General Manager for Ireland, said: 'Safety is a top priority for Bolt, and we're always looking at new ways to support both passengers and drivers. We introduced a 'Women for Women' feature in several countries, which allows women passengers to request women drivers where available. 'While this feature is not currently available in Ireland, we're constantly reviewing where it could be rolled out next,' Hurd said, adding that Bolt has other in-app safety features like an emergency assist button. 'As a woman in the industry, increasing the diversity of drivers is a particular focus of mine. However, a major barrier to growing the number of women in the industry is the current regulatory environment,' she said. 'The cost of entering the market is high and the SPSV Driver Entry Test needs modernisation to better reflect today's technology and operating conditions. These issues need to be addressed if we're serious about improving diversity across the sector.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal

Meta to halt political advertising in EU from October, cites EU rules
Meta to halt political advertising in EU from October, cites EU rules

Irish Independent

time2 days ago

  • Irish Independent

Meta to halt political advertising in EU from October, cites EU rules

Meta's announcement echoed Alphabet unit Google's decision announced last November, underscoring Big Tech's pushback against EU rules aimed at reining in their power and making sure that they are more accountable and transparent. The European Union legislation, called the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising regulation and which will apply from October 10, was triggered by concerns about disinformation and foreign interference in elections across the 27-country bloc. The law requires Big Tech companies to clearly label political advertising on their platforms, who paid for it and how much, as well as which elections are being targeted, or risk fines up to 6% of their annual turnover. "From early October 2025, we will no longer allow political, electoral and social issue ads on our platforms in the EU," Meta said in a blog post. "This is a difficult decision - one we've taken in response to the EU's incoming Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulation, which introduces significant operational challenges and legal uncertainties," it said. Meta said the EU rules would ultimately hurt Europeans. "We believe that personalised ads are critical to a wide range of advertisers, including those engaged on campaigns to inform voters about important social issues that shape public discourse," it said. "Regulations, like the TTPA, significantly undermine our ability to offer these services, not only impacting effectiveness of advertisers' outreach but also the ability of voters to access comprehensive information." Meta's Facebook and Instagram are currently being investigated by the European Commission over their suspected failure to tackle disinformation and deceptive advertising in the run-up to the 2024 European Parliament elections. The EU probe is under the Digital Services Act, which requires Big Tech to do more to counter illegal and harmful content on their platforms or risk fines of as much as 6% of their global annual turnover. ByteDance's TikTok is also in the EU crosshairs over its suspected failure to tackle election interference, notably in the Romanian presidential vote last November. (Reuters)

Meta to pull political ads in EU in response to new disinformation rules
Meta to pull political ads in EU in response to new disinformation rules

Irish Times

time2 days ago

  • Irish Times

Meta to pull political ads in EU in response to new disinformation rules

Meta will stop running political advertising in the EU from October, criticising 'unworkable requirements' under a new European law designed to increase transparency in digital campaigning. On Friday, the social media giant said it would no longer allow ads related to 'political, electoral and social issues' on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. The move comes ahead of the full implementation of the EU's Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising regulation, which introducing conditions on how online platforms serve political content to users. The regulation is designed to address concerns around information manipulation and foreign interference in elections, as well as the processing of personal data for political advertising. READ MORE It forms part of a broader push by Brussels to safeguard the democratic process and limit disinformation online. While the regulation is already in force, most provisions will only start to apply in October. Meta's move is in keeping with a more confrontational approach the US tech giant has taken with European regulators since Donald Trump was elected. The group has become one of the most vocal US tech companies criticising the EU's digital rule book, which has become a flashpoint in transatlantic trade talks and a target of criticism from the Trump administration. Meta said the TTPA regulation introduces 'significant operational challenges and legal uncertainties' and has thus decided to no longer allow such ads on its platforms in the EU. This limitation only applies to ads, so people or candidates can still post about or discuss politics on Meta's platforms. 'We continue to believe online political advertising is a vital part of modern politics, connecting people to important information about the politicians that represent them, and ensuring candidates have a cost-effective way of reaching their audiences,' the company said in a post. Meta's decision follows a similar decision by Google, which said last year it would stop political advertising before the regulation enters into force. 'Once again, we're seeing Europe's regulatory regime effectively remove popular products and services from the market, reducing choice and competition,' Meta said. The European Commission has several investigations running as to whether Meta is in breach of the bloc's Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act. Earlier this month, Meta also said it would not sign the EU's artificial intelligence code of practice, a set of guidelines that help companies follow the AI Act's rules around general-purpose AI that come into effect in early August. Meta said the code introduced legal uncertainties and goes far beyond the scope of the AI Act, but other leading US groups such as OpenAI and Anthropic have pledged to sign up to it. --Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store