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Your Say

Poll: Would you welcome legislation to regulate websites used by children?

Frances Fitzgerald has expressed concern at difficulties in regulating websites due to the open nature of the internet, but would you welcome it?

FOLLOWING THE DEATHS of teenagers like Erin Gallagher and Ciara Pugsly which have been linked to cyberbullying, Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald has urged websites to put safeguards in place.

In a response to a parliamentary question, the minister expressed concern at the difficulties in regulating websites “due to the global and open nature of the internet”.

Fitzgerald is asking websites to put their own child-focused protections in place, similar to those implemented by Facebook and plans to meet with the social networking giant to discuss its policy.

However, if the government was forced to legislate on the issue, it could stir up a flurry of controversy over government regulation of the internet as many of the social networking sites used by teens are also used by adults.

So we ask; would you support legislation to regulate websites used by children?


Poll Results:

Yes, if it would only impact on children (743)
No (690)
Yes (311)

Related: Irish government rejects suggestions on regulating the web>

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