A Government Minister has pushed back against demands to bring criminal charges against social media bosses, warning against the casual use of the justice system for regulatory issues.
In comments made to Gript outside Government Buildings this week, the Minister stressed that such measures must remain a “last resort.”
Some Oireachtas committee members have increasingly advocated for prosecuting specific executives when their platforms breach state digital safety rules, but the Minister expressed reluctance to back the strategy.
He warned that the justice system should not serve as an automatic response to corporate non-compliance.
“It’s always an extreme case to criminalise an individual,” he said. “The criminal law shouldn’t really be deployed in sort of a regulatory corporate environment.”
While acknowledging that existing laws permit penalties for severe misconduct, he argued against making it a routine approach.
“There are provisions within the law for extreme bad behaviour where criminal sanctions can apply,” he continued. “But it shouldn’t be the default.”
If authorities find themselves prosecuting tech executives, the Minister argued, it points to deeper systemic failures.
“If we’re at the stage that we’re looking to criminalise executives… something has gone wrong further up the chain,” he said. “I would just caution as a lawyer myself, criminal law should be the last resort and not the first.”
Asked whether targeting executives might strain Ireland’s diplomatic ties with the US, he acknowledged the possibility but largely dismissed the concern.
“From a first principles point of view, you don’t reach for the criminal law as your first sanction,” he said. “You do everything else first. And something has gone wrong if you end up having to utilise that.”
As Gript reported on September 29th, the push for stricter consequences against the tech industry emerged during last week’s meeting of the Joint Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport.
During the session, a Labour TD argued that tech company personnel must face criminal repercussions when their sites do not remove unlawful material.
Tipperary North TD Alan Kelly insisted that these corporations must conform to national laws, rather than expecting the State to accommodate them.
“When they set foot in the EU, they will have to come to Ireland to answer questions,” Kelly said. “That is where this has to go because this is dangerous and illegal content.”
This debate unfolds against a backdrop of mounting pressure on Coimisiún na Meán, the national body responsible for overseeing broadcasting and enforcing EU digital regulations.
Formed in 2023 through new media legislation, the watchdog is currently managing several inquiries into the practices of social media networks based in the country.