Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said people look for harmful content online after “advertised” it in mainstream media, reports Breaking News.
Mr Varadkar said mainstream media had a responsibility to flag their own harmful content online.
The media regularly publish requests from Garda officers asking the public not to share photos of tragic events.
In response to a question about social media companies in Co. Waterford, the Fine Gael leader said: “The traditional mainstream media also has responsibilities too and I think sometimes that’s forgotten. It particularly has a responsibility in not signalling, in not advertising in papers and in the regular broadcast media that stuff and harmful content is available online because if you signal it, people go looking for it,” reports Breaking News.
Asked later whether there should be more concern about social media companies sharing harmful content, Varadkar replied: “It is.”
His comments come after TikTok exposed and shut down an operation aimed at influencing Irish users and inciting social conflict.
The Covert Influence Operations (CIO) network includes 72 accounts with a total following of approximately 95,000 users.
The video-sharing platform’s prosecution and deletion of accounts was detailed in a report to the European Commission.
Topics included views on nationalism in Ireland, Japan, Russia and Taiwan.
TikTok is a signatory to the EU Code of Conduct, which aims to combat confusion and disinformation online.
“You know, the reason why we know about this issue with TikTok is because of the new laws that have been brought in and were shut down and was disclosed. And so I think we’re starting to see those new laws and new regulations work. We do now have the digital services and the online safety commissioner in operation and I think we’re starting to see some results from that,” reports Breaking News.
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