Coimisiún na Meán adopts Online Safety Code and associated guidance ​​​​​​​

On Monday 20 October, Coimisiún na Meán (CnaM) adopted the finalised version of its Online Safety Code (the Code).

The Code is part of Ireland’s transposition of the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive. It details binding obligations for video-sharing platform service providers aimed at protecting children and the general public from harmful content.

As was expected, the text of the Code that has been adopted is almost identical to the draft version which was published in May of this year. 

However, yesterday’s announcement did include some new developments:

Timing

In the Code’s accompanying FAQs, CnaM announced that there will be a delay in the Code coming into effect. 

Part A of the Code will become effective 28 days after the date of adoption i.e. 19 November 2024. 

Part B of the Code will become effective 9 months after the date of adoption i.e. 21 July 2025.

CnaM has stated that this longer implementation window is to allow greater time for platforms to design and implement the internal system changes required to ensure compliance.

Although this delayed implementation is contrary to CnaM’s previous statements on the timeline, it will be welcomed by many service providers as certain obligations under the Code may require significant operational changes.

Guidance Materials

Together with the publication of the Code, CnaM also published Online Safety Guidance Materials (the Guidance) which is a non-binding document, intended to establish expectations and recommendations as to the operations of the provisions in the Code. 

The Guidance will also likely be welcomed by service providers as it provides some further details in respect of CnaM’s expectations and the potential options which may be available to meet compliance. 

By way of example, Section 4.3 of the Guidance discusses age assurance measures. 

The Code requires service providers to implement appropriate age assurance measures and explicitly states that age assurance measures based solely on self-declaration will not be considered effective. 

The Guidance does not set out specific details of what will be considered “effective” age assurance measures, but it does list a range of potential age assurance techniques which service providers may wish to consider implementing, including self-declaration, cross-platform authentication, age estimation and behavioural profiling. 

Although the Guidance is helpful, it does not address all concerns that have been raised in respect of the Code. There remains a number of aspects of the Code which will require further clarification. For instance, Section 17.3 of the Code requires service providers to provide reports to CnaM on the handling of user complaints and “other matters” every “3 months or so”. 

In the development of the Code a number of stakeholders highlighted that this requirement is too vague and requires further detail. Unfortunately, the Guidance fails to address this section of the Code at all.

Conclusion

While the delayed implementation and the accompanying Guidance are welcome, there are still certain aspects of the Code which may present challenges for stakeholders. We will be monitoring its continued development and application closely.  

Should you have any questions regarding the Code or its application, please do not hesitate to reach out to our Technology team for assistance.