Ireland’s government has held a meeting with big tech companies like Meta, TikTok, and Google to discuss about online safety and how to protect people, especially children, on the internet. The officials asked these companies to explain how they keep people safe from harmful content.
During the meeting, members of the Irish parliament asked questions about how social media companies deal with problems like cyberbullying, bad content, and unsafe videos. They want the companies to keep people safer instead of letting the platforms to handle everything.
Ireland has a law called the Online Safety and Media Regulation. This law created a special group called Coimisiún na Meán. This group checks online platforms and makes sure they follow rules to keep people safe. The law started in March 2023 and allow the group make and enforce safety rules.
Under this law, major platforms that lets to people to share videos and posts must follow rules to protect users from things like bullying, hate speech, and sexual content that could hurt children. The group can also force companies to let people to report harmful content and must take action on those reports.
One major problem talked about in the meeting is that children might see adult or sexual content that is not safe for them. Many politicians, parents, and child safety groups want stricter checks so that younger users cannot see harmful content easily. Some lawmakers are even talking about age checks to make sure only adults can see this type of content.
The meeting is also about serious problems online. Recent reports show that Irish police worked with other countries to keep children safe from online abuse. In 2025, officers helped to find and protect 151 children who were being hurt online, including kids in Ireland. This made lawmakers more serious to make the internet safer for children.
Experts and online safety activists say the internet can be a good place for learning and fun, but it also has real problems like cyberbullies, violent videos, fake accounts, and sexual content that should not be shared with children. Many believe tech companies should take serous actions to stop these issues before they spread.
Ireland has also been part of EU online safety rules, which apply to many social media platforms. The purpose of these rules is to make sure that platforms remove harmful content quickly and have parents safeguards, age checks, and easy ways for users to report harmful content they see online.
Some lawmakers want to take bigger steps. They are looking at ways to make sure social media accounts are not used by very young children or require proof of age before allowing access to sensitive content. They also want tech companies to take full responsibility that they stop harmful content from being shared.
Kids and teenagers spend a lot of time online. They can see harmful or sexual content by mistake, and parents find it hard to watch everything. This online safety meeting is a way to help keep young people safe in Ireland.
Ireland is planning to arrange discussions about online safety in future. This could make more rules to keep the internet safe in all European countries. Tech companies, government leaders, and parents are waiting to see how the new laws and safety steps will help keep everyone, especially kids and teenagers, safe online.