Robert Troy TD, Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, today welcomed another milestone on the path to adopting new EU online safety rules.
Marking the development, the Minister said,
“Earlier this morning, at the meeting of EU Ambassadors, Ireland gave its support to the Council’s approval of the Digital Services Act (the DSA). Today’s agreement paves the way for the DSA to become EU law in the next few months.
“I am delighted that we are now in the final stages of bringing the DSA into legal force.
“We have seen most particularly over the last few years how social media and other internet services can be used for both good and ill. If we are to build on that good, and make those services safer, we must increase efforts to combat and mitigate against the illegal and harmful content that is disseminated online. I believe that these new rules will do just that.
“I expect that the DSA’s provisions will begin to apply to internet service providers operating in Ireland and across the EU from the middle of next year. The Government will use the time between now and then to equip our implementation and enforcement authorities so that they are ready to play their part as soon as they are called upon. “