Regulating tech giants
Senator Warfield said stronger regulation of technology companies was finally emerging, but warned that well-funded lobbying by firms like Facebook could weaken reforms.
We seem to be finally on a path to greater regulation and legislation that would rein in the technology companies and the technology giants. The Digital Services Act, the online safety Bill on which Senator Carrigy and I have produced the pre-legislative report and the media committee are all going in the right direction. Companies such as Facebook, however, have a very well-resourced logging machine
I know from the latest figures for 2017 in regard to the European institutions that Facebook has spent approximately €2.5 million lobbying the EU institutions around regulation and legislation. Very often - I have witnessed this - Facebook will publicly state it is in favour of something while behind closed doors it will kick-back against it. We saw this regarding its call for a delay with the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020. I am raising this issue because we were informed in the Business Post on Sunday that tech companies were granted confidentiality before meeting with the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and officials of the Department. We all know that Government needs to get tough on social media companies. It needs to stand up for the interests of citizens, the protection of data, the protection of people's well-being online and for our democracy as well. That Facebook was granted confidentiality by a Minister of State prior to a discussion on legislation is incredible. It is unpalatable. I am surprised that an Irish Government Minister would agree to a request like that. I intend to raise this issue in private session at tomorrow's meeting of the Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht. I call on the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, to come before this House regarding this issue. As I have already stated, we know that when Facebook states something in public it is lobbying for the complete opposite in private. I call on the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, to come before this House to explain why confidentiality was granted for those meetings.