John Evans

The bodies will join the Central Bank of Ireland which was awarded Trusted Flagger status under the Digital Services Act (DSA) in April of last year.

The three newly accredited Trusted Flaggers will be responsible for submitting reports to online platforms relating to illegal content as outlined below:

Irish Internet Hotline (IIH) – child sexual abuse material, non-consensual intimate image sharing, racism, xenophobia and financial scams and fraud.
Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) – copyright infringement, with a particular focus on music and lyrical copyright.
Jewish Representative Council of Ireland (JRCI) – illegal antisemitic material.

Under the Digital Services Act, Coimisiún na Meán has the power to award Trusted Flagger status to entities established in Ireland who meet certain conditions.

Trusted Flaggers are empowered to notify illegal content within their area of expertise to online platforms who are then legally obliged to ensure these notices are given priority and decided upon without undue delay. However, Trusted Flagger status does not guarantee take-down of content. It, instead, provides a fast track to the platform in reporting illegal content. Entities awarded Trusted Flagger status are recognised as such across the EU.

Digital services commissioner, John Evans, said: “By empowering these organisations with Trusted Flagger status we are maximising the impact of our regulatory framework in order to minimise online harms to the public. Through collaboration, we are continuing to develop an ecosystem that supports the delivery of our online safety mandate. Reports from Trusted Flaggers will also feed into Coimisiún na Meán’s identification of trends and issues via annual reports, which will be instrumental in establishing an informed, evidence-based approach to our supervision of online platforms.”