Government To Confirm Plans To Ban Under-16s From Having Social Media Accounts

The Government is planning to put forward new laws to ban under-16s from having online accounts, with age verification tools. Cabinet ministers are understood to be prioritising the proposed legislation ahead of Ireland's EU Presidency in June. Last December, Australia became the first country to restrict teenagers from social media, with others planning similar bans. However, Fianna Fail TD Malcom Byrne, who's chairperson of the Oireachtas Committee on Artificial Intelligence, thinks the Government should wait to see what impact Australia's ban is having. To unpack what this could mean in practice — from technology and enforcement to privacy and business impact — Alan Morrissey spoke with Pat Clarke Browne, Technology Expert with Munster Business and Garrett Greene, Lecturer in Law at the Technological University of the Shannon. Image © Getty Images via istockphoto.com