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Twitter International Unlimited Company has rightfully challenged Coimisiún na Meán’s new Online Safety Code which clearly fails to protect and balance fundamental rights, particularly Freedom Of Expression. The biggest threat to the political establishment is people finding their voice. Ireland appears to be the testing ground for the most draconian attack on free speech in Europe, including the attempted creation of a “thought crime”. Ireland’s new media commission Coimisiún na Meán has been assigned a lead role in enforcing sweeping new laws under the EU Digital Services Act which will apply to social media platforms, severely curtailing Freedom Of Expression online. The Commission has massive powers under the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022 to determine what constitutes online “harmful” content or conduct and to take enforcement action against social media platforms. The ‘Online Safety Code’ drastically curtails Freedom Of Expression that goes far beyond domestic and EU legislation, is deliberately vague and imprecise, and extends beyond Ireland’s duty to transpose the EU Directive. It can be added to at any time through Ministerial Order. It gives the Media Commission excessive powers to suppress online free speech that they say poses a ‘risk’ of ‘harm’ based on the ‘balance of probabilities’. The fact that a State body will have so much power threatens the very core of free speech and will be used as a tool to silence dissenting voices to the political establishment. The State expects Elon Musk to comply, as they do with other social media platforms such as Facebook. Journal ie, Ireland’s designated Facebook ‘fact-checkers’, are funded by the EU and other sources, cannot be considered unbiased, independent and credible and are used by the State to crackdown on dissent to the political establishment. One only has to read the Journal’s ‘Fact Check’ Reports to see the political agenda behind the suppression of free speech on Facebook. #Resist
Who Watches the Watchers? 