Social Media

Ireland's data protection watchdog has reached significant milestones in separate investigations into Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. In a statement, the Data Protection Commission (DPC), led by commissioner Helen Dixon, has submitted a draft decision in relation to its inquiry into Twitt

Legislative plans to establish a "robust regulatory framework" to deal with the spread of harmful online content have been set out by the Government. Communications Minister Richard Bruton today published the general scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill, which he would be the first

A lack of real competition to tech giants Google and Facebook could mean people are already missing out on the next new idea from a potential rival, the Competition and Markets Authority has said in a new report. Furthermore, the market position of Google and Facebook may potentially be undermi

Contempt of court proceedings against Facebook and Twitter, where the identities of the two boys who murdered schoolgirl Ana Kriegel were shared, have been stuck out, despite the continuation of "alarming posts" online. An injunction compelling Facebook Ireland Limited and Twitter International Comp

New rules governing social media companies based in Ireland aim to be "robust" and equip a media commission with “significant enforcement powers”, the Department of Communications has said. It said that Minister Richard Bruton intends to bring a general scheme of the bill to the Gov

Social media giants including Facebook and Twitter are likely to face significant fines for misuse of personal data, Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon has warned. Ms Dixon made the comments at the Secure Computing Forum at the Royal Dublin Society (RDS), the Irish Independent reports.

Social media giant Facebook has been asked to provide more information to the Data Protection Commission about its now-suspended practice of handing user audio clips to external contractors. Facebook is one of a number of Internet giants who have come under criticism for using contractors to review

Gardaí have referred nearly a dozen people for prosecution in relation to social media posts identifying the killers of schoolgirl Ana Kriégel, according to reports. The anonymity of the two 14-year-olds, who were found guilty of murder in June, is protected by both court orders and le

Lawyers for a man acquitted of rape last year have told a court that his legal entitlement to anonymity is being breached by Google search results of his name. Mícheál O'Higgins SC told Mr Justice Michael White that when his client's name is placed into the Google search engine the res

Facebook has been ordered to pay a record-breaking $5 billion penalty by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for privacy violations following an investigation into its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The FTC alleges that Facebook failed to safeguard user data from third parties and used t

US President Donald Trump is not allowed under the First Amendment of the US Constitution to block his critics on Twitter, judges have ruled. A court challenge was brought by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and seven people who had been blocked by the president's fam

According to Advocate General Szpunar, Facebook can be ordered to seek and identify all comments identical to a defamatory comment that has been found to be illegal, and equivalent comments in so far as the latter originate from the same user. In the present case, the EU law relied on does not regul

Facebook has lost an appeal against the decision to refer a complaint about EU-US data transfer to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling. Emphasising that there were significant limitations on the issues which could be considered on such an appeal, the Chief Justice, Mr

Ciaran O'Shiel, associate in IP, media and data disputes at A&L Goodbody in Belfast, considers the consequences of a recent judgment of the UK Supreme Court. “He tried to strangle me. What would those words convey to the ordinary reasonable reader of a Facebook post?” is how Lord Ker

Proposals backed by a senior European politician to ban anonymity on social media could have an adverse impact on people living under repressive regimes, media lawyers in Ireland have warned. German politician Manfred Weber, the frontrunner for next president of the European Commission, told a TV de