A proposal to link social media accounts to the public services card have been shot down by the taoiseach after a Fine Gael TD said that it could help to verify users.
Jim Daly, a junior minister, said he had asked the European Commission to explore the idea, saying that “child protection trumps data protection”.
Leo Varadkar said that the government would not be progressing the plan. “The government has no plans to link the public services card to internet usage, which I agree would be a restriction on privacy and people’s freedom. I have no doubt the minister of state’s thoughts and proposals were well intentioned but it is certainly not something the government is proposing to do,” he said.
Mr Daly said he wanted social media providers, such as Twitter and Facebook, to apply to the Department for Social Protection to issue online verification codes for users.
Paul Murphy, the Solidarity TD, said the idea was “ill thought out and certainly Orwellian”, adding that it was a “dangerous proposal that would curtail privacy and internet freedom”.
Advertisement
Mr Daly renewed his suggestion after a Dublin man was found guilty of using apps such as Instagram and Snapchat to coerce girls into sending him pornographic images. The man, who is due to be sentenced on Friday, set up fake online profiles to target victims as young as nine.
Mr Varadkar said he wanted to express “condemnation and disgust” at the stories of “sexual predators and others using social media and online systems to gain access to children” He added: “Of course, none of these behaviours were created by the internet, but its existence allows people to make contact with other individuals, including children, with much more ease.”
He said that Denis Naughten, the environment and climate change minister, will hold an “open policy debate” on the issue of cybersafety in March at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham.
There has been confusion around whether the government would appoint a digital safety commissioner. This month Mr Varadkar said he had “mis-spoken” when he said the government had shelved plans for a regulator. Speaking before Christmas he said the government was postponing plans to set up a regulator that could fine tech companies for internet law breaches.
Mr Naughten had indicated that he was going ahead with the plans.