Social media firms to appear before Oireachtas committee

Representatives from tech companies Meta, TikTok, Snap, Google and Microsoft will today appear before the Oireachtas Committee on Children and Equality to discuss online safety.

In her opening address, Freddie Cook from Snapchat parent company Snap will say they see real value in stronger age‑appropriate design requirements, and robust oversight of how platforms mitigate the highest‑risk harms.

"At the same time, legislation cannot do everything: well‑resourced education, youth services and mental health services are vital to supporting teen self‑esteem and to responding when harm occurs," Ms Cook is expected to say.

She will also outline the steps Snapchat takes to make it hard for strangers to find and contact teens.

"We know we must continually improve these systems as offenders constantly adapt," Ms Cook will say.

Susan Moss, Head of Public Policy at TikTok Ireland, will outline the safety settings it has rolled out for young people.

"But safety doesn't stop with settings," Ms Moss is expected to say.

"When teens need support, parents are often the first people they can turn to, making them one of our most important partners."

"That's why we remain focused on reaching parents with the information they need about TikTok," she will tell members.

Dualta Ó Broin, Director of Public Policy for Meta Ireland, is expected to repeat Meta's preference for age verification at the app store level.

"I think it is important to emphasise that solving the question of age verification does not absolve any individual app or service of the need to ensure that teens have age appropriate experiences on their platforms," according to Mr Ó Broin's opening statement.

Committee Cathaoirleach Keira Keogh said members have previously outlined concerns about addictive design and algorithms that expose children to inappropriate material, as well as artificial intelligence and deepfake content specifically aimed at them.

"Across our meetings with regulators, gardaí, child protection advocates, the Ombudsman for Children and groups of children and young people, we have heard evidence of the dangers children face online and what needs to be done to protect them from such exposure," Ms Keogh said.

"It is in that context that we welcome this engagement with the representatives from the social media companies, whose platforms are used by children."

"The Committee looks forward to hearing from them what their companies are doing to protect children and young people from inappropriate and harmful content," Ms Keogh said.