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CABINET WILL THIS morning be asked to approve a section of the Electoral Reform Act 2022 which will give the Electoral Commission powers relating to disinformation and misinformation online.
Minister for Housing and Local Government Darragh O’Brien will seek Cabinet approval to progress Part 5 of the bill, which was delayed as the Government was required to ensure it is in harmony with the EU Digital Services Act.
The European law, which came into effect last year, aims to make social media companies more transparent, with a particular focus on banning or limiting targeting practices and introducing tighter controls on content.
Part 5 of the Irish Government’s bill will create a regulatory framework to give the Electoral Commission powers against the spread and publication of online misinformation.
It’s hoped that these powers will allow the Commission to protect the integrity of elections and referendums in Ireland.
The bill provides for a co-operation agreement to be made between the Electoral Commission and Comisiún na Meán (which has a broader role in relation to online misinformation) to facilitate the sharing of information between them.
It also allows the Electoral Commission to communicate with the public about misinformation or disinformation concerning the electoral process, as well as the use of manipulative or inauthentic behaviour at any time.
This will mean that communications about these issues can be made outside of an electoral period.
Set up in February 2023, the Electoral Commission is an independent State body which oversees electoral functions.
Its work includes explaining to the public what referendums are about, and occasional reviews of Dáil and European Parliament constituencies and local electoral area boundaries.
Speaking earlier this year, Electoral Commission chair Justice Marie Baker said that when the new powers are put in place, the Commission will have the authority to tell social media companies to take certain material down if it is deemed to be false.
It would also be able to go to the High Court and seek and order for the material to be removed if required.
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Like Catherine Martin in the run up to the referendum. Goverment minister called out by the Electoral Commission for spreading misinformation and she still didn’t retract her statement.. what’s the point.. ? And who are they trying to cod ?
Are government lies included in this bill
@N D K: No, their lies are exempt .
You mean to reinforce the woke agenda propaganda.
@Dominic Leleu: Is the woke agenda in the room with you now Dom?
@Dominic Leleu: Can you show us on the doll where the woke progressives hurt you?
@Dominic Leleu: do you ever actually here from the woke people? Or is it all your lecturers in facebook university berating them all the time. Damn scary vague meaningless monolith.
The worst misinformation at election time comes from the politicians themselves and the lies they tell to win votes. Varadkar and abolishing USC spring to mind.
@irishsaverandinvestor: Enda Kenny and his, It’s immoral to tax a person’s home
And thinking of gender quotas to solve problem of not enough female local politicians. People should get voted on their merits only.
Is this another way of silencing opinions from those who don’t agree with the government narrative, who dare to offer an alternative view to ppl whether they be looney leftists or fascist far right and allow ppl to make up their own minds. This government has made it a goal to control what ppl are fed by the media and it’s so obvious it’s comical .
How about completing one task while you’re there in housing, HSE , affordable rents etc etc etc
@Dave O Neill: The problem is though that opinions powered by emotional reactions are considered people’s natural right. There is no quality control, independant ombudsman, no public apologies, or recognition of personal and collective responsibility in those kind of personal opinions. Emotion is dirt cheap. Having to thrawl through actual information and compare data is unrewarding from the point of view of reactivity and it doesn’t allow a person to block out any negative aspect of their lives by filling them with indignation. Don’t blame the media if people want just to react and blame as a default position.
@Numinous20111: The perceptive abilities are the most valuable things a person has as a balance of head and heart. If it doesn’t feel right, it is up to the individual to discern what works and what does not work.
Followers of the Enlightenment subculture which attempted to exclude the perceptive faculties through the quasi-legal language of evidence, proof and so on was when the belief that there is a proper way to think or ‘rules of reasoning’ emerged.
https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/en/newton.htm
@Dave O Neill: ‘Is this another way of silencing opinions …’
No.
@Brendan O’Brien: If the opinion is deemed “misinformed” then it will be removed so you answer isn’t correct. And will these arbiters of truth be right in every case? Doubtful. Remember when the Wuhan lab leak theory was considered “misinformed” or “conspiracy tinfoil hat nonsense” until it gained mainstream acceptance? That’s a worry when a government funded agency can censor what it “deems” to be false. I hope each case they bring ends up before the courts because there needs to be a check on the government’s reach here
@Numinous20111: I would agree with a lot of what you’ve pointed out, but as you’re aware ppl are being labelled both rightly and wrongly by the media , there definitely needs to be an impartial regulator with no funding from government and one with power over social media which is driven by emotion a lot of the time and drives the misinformation .
Will ot be called the George Orwell act, if it wasn’t for freedom of speech we would all still on lock down taking or 15th booster, Dangerous times ahead in ireland
@087 bed: Please explain how freedom of speech ended the lockdown?
@087 bed: What did poor old Orwell do to deserve being cited by conspiracy theorists 74 years after his death?
@Bren
Orwell, like many of the Brexiteer politicians, was Eton-educated so that academic-political influence has always been present and especially in his celebrated novel. Some like to project it onto the Nazis (right politics) as Orwell did, and others onto the commies (left politics) but it is more or less enlightenment politics that have come to their full flower in the UK and America.
“Nazi theory indeed specifically denies that such a thing as “the truth” exists. The implied objective of this line of thought is a nightmare world in which the Leader, or some ruling clique, controls not only the future but the past. If the Leader says of such and such an event, “It never happened”–well, it never happened. ” Orwell
Nazi theory was Victorian natural selection as you now know.
Catherine Martin, Roderic O Gorman, Micheal Martin & Leo Varadkar all clearly were guilty of Misinformation prior to the Referendums, the AG leak proved this, yet the Electoral Commission took no action. The bias shown by the Electoral Commission to the Yes side in the Referendums was disgraceful, it seems the role of the Electoral Commission is to push the narrative of the Govt & accuse others of Misinformation, it’s just another Quango & is clearly not impartial & undermines democracy, as it’s not seen to act against those in power who abuse the rules.
Excellent news, as our democracy needs to be protected from bad actors spreading misinformation.
@Pat Hazzard: True. We have enough of lifers like Micheal Martin for example. They get acting lessons in how to wave their hands while explaining something that is still not clear after the explaining is finished.
We need qualfied people with life experience or a professional profile going for political positions. The days of pushing failed publicians, teachers and auctioneers into the highest positions in the country must end.
@Pat Hazzard: Biggest spreaders of misinformation is from our politicians. Say one thing but do another.
@Ger Whelan: They don’t release reports either. They get us to pay for the reports and then hold them back from being published. Spoofers.
@Pat Hazzard: The only bad actor here is you pretending to give a scoobie doo about democracy.
Appears tin foil sales are still very buoyant
@Pat Hazzard: Second only to Dunce hats ..
@Brian: I know exactly how you feel. I’ve spent decades telling people that the 1960′s ‘Casino Royale’ is the only James Bond film that represents Ian Fleming’s true vision of the character. Everyone dismisses me as a loon with an obvious agenda. Keep the faith, brother. We’ll both eventually be proven to be visionaries.
@Pat Hazzard: Yes, but who decides what is disinformation?. For example, the Iraq was based on disinformation. Weapons of mass destruction Thousands died, and no action was taken. Alot of election promises are disinformation. Example FG abolition USC. No action taken. It goes on and on.
@did you every wonder: the electoral commission, I believe. And I don’t think what Varadkar said about the USC would be deemed misinformation. I’m sure he would argue that he made the promise in good faith at the time. Obvs thats then up to each individual to decide whether they believe him or not
@David Corrigan: how do you propose to get the people you want into the most senior positions? Surely you’re not suggesting that publicans and teachers are barred from running for office?
@David Corrigan: Another snide remark about a government politician. Why not show impartiality in your examples and criticise some of the opposition. The are better examples there than Michael Martin eg Paul Murphy, McDonald’s constant whinging etc..
@Ger Whelan: Don’t forget Pat Hazzard, he does his fair share of spreading misinformation!
@Vincent Alexander: So you want me to stop telling the truth about a politician and aim at someone in opposition instead?
Are you sure your request makes sense?
Needs to be massive fines for Twitter in particular, it is now the main platform for radicalised far-right extremists.
Government censorship board, disgraceful!
People should not be so gullible, after all, the legislation being brought in also brings ‘hate speech’ legislation under the radar of electoral misinformation or disinformation. They are going to bring in ‘like speech’ legislation tomorrow that extends beyond the election period so everyone gets to like the same imperatives as the Government.
The notion of left and right politics is a false choice as often those with more balanced perspectives are lumped in with right politics as they have nowhere else to go in the presence of the academic-political-media vehicle.
Whether it is a lost cause is hard to say, but it is unpleasant nonetheless.
Politicians deciding what is truth, you couldn’t make this stuff up!
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