JUSTICE MINISTER HELEN McEntee is seeking a meeting with X, formerly Twitter, after she said the platform’s inaction on taking down certain posts partially “fuelled” public disorder in Dublin last Thursday.
Her comments come as gardaí investigating the riots have been examining social media posts as part of efforts to trace some of those involved.
It is understood that any violence and looting of shops in the city centre is only part of the investigation, with alleged incitement of the crowds also forming part of enquiries.
McEntee said that X did not engage with gardaí on the day when contacted to take down “vile” posts .
Speaking today, McEntee said: “When [X] did not take down content on Thursday it added to and I think fuelled some of what happened.
“I would like to engage with them on what they plan to do moving forward.”
She added that the recent establishment of Coimisiún na Meán “is moving towards a society where we don’t have self-regulation with these types of companies”.
“I think that’s a good thing.
“There has been engagement between An Garda Síochána and social media companies, not just on Thursday, but since then, but I will be seeking to meet with X myself because I think the company have a responsibility to be responsible.”
Coimisiún na Meán said in a statement today that when it became aware of the stabbing incident, it “immediately contacted” platforms about “the potential sharing of images and videos of the incident online and the potential use of this incident to incite violence against individuals or groups”.
It said it held meetings with the platforms and the European Commission on Friday to get more information about how they have responded to the riots. More meetings are to take place this week “for more detailed discussions about their response”.
Minister Simon Harris said earlier this week that there is a “very serious issue” in relation to the ability to “spread disinformation and undermine democracy” on social media platforms.
McEntee added that the platforms “can be extremely positive” for individuals and the government to communicate.
“But also there can be a sinister element to it as well, because information can be spread very easily and disinformation can be spread very easily,” she said.
“It’s not about shutting [social media platforms] down, or trying to prevent platforms from operating
“It’s about making sure that they live up to their own standards, and that they keep people safe.
“That’s why I would like to engage with them, and that’s why I was hoping that they would respond positively.”
On what she thinks of public figures who have been vocal online about the riots, McEntee said there is an onus on them “to be careful with the types of communications they put on social media platforms”.
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