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On 4 March 2019, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Richard Bruton, announced that he would introduce a new Online Safety Act to improve online safety and ensure that children can be protected online.   In announcing the proposed law, the Minister stated that while "digital technology is transforming the world in which we work and live and learn” and “provides huge opportunities for us all”, it also “presents new risks which did not exist previously.” Minister Bruton asserted that the “situation at present where online and social media companies are not subject to...

On 11 December 2018, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) launched a public consultation process regarding a new draft Media Plurality Policy. BAI's 2017-2019 Statement of Strategy states that the regulator should “promote a plurality of voices, viewpoints, outlets and sources in Irish media”. More precisely, the three key strategic objectives of the BAI in this regard are to: facilitate a mix of voices, opinions and sources of news and current affairs in the audiovisual media in order to enhance democratic debate and active citizenship in Ireland; increase the production and availability...

In October 2018, the Compliance Committee of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), by majority, upheld a complaint in part regarding a report of court proceedings broadcast by public service broadcaster RTÉ One on their Six-One News, a news programme broadcast each evening at 6.01 p.m. Under section 48 of the Broadcasting Act 2009, individuals may make a complaint to the Authority that a broadcaster failed to comply with the broadcasting codes. The complainant referred to a report of court proceedings at a district court in which the complainant appeared as the defendant. The complainant...

On 26 October 2018, a referendum was held in Ireland on whether the offence of blasphemy should be removed from the Bunreacht na hÉireann (Irish Constitution); 65% voted in favour and 35% voted against. As a result, Article 40.6.1 of the Irish Constitution no longer provides that the publication or utterance of blasphemous matter is an offence which shall be punishable by law. Following the referendum, the Irish Minister for Justice and Equality commented that the Irish people had sent a “message to the world - a strong message that laws against blasphemy do not reflect Irish values and that we...

On 20 September 2018, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) published updated Guidelines for Coverage of General, Presidential, Seanad (Senate), Local and European Elections (for previous guidelines, see IRIS 2016-1/19 and IRIS 2014-5/23). The purpose of the Guidelines is to set out requirements for broadcasters in terms of their coverage of elections, and to provide guidance on how fairness, objectivity and impartiality may be achieved. The Guidelines were published in advance of the Irish presidential election in late October 2018, and upcoming local and European Parliament elections in...