Coimisiún na Meán marks Safer Internet Day 2024 

Safer Internet Day takes place every February to raise awareness of a safer and better internet for all, and especially for children and young people. 

February 6^th 2024 is the 21^st anniversary of Safer Internet Day, and the first Safer Internet Day since the establishment of Coimisiún na Meán and the appointment of Ireland’s first Online Safety Commissioner, Niamh Hodnett. This year, Coimisiún na Meán is supporting Webwise’s campaign on the theme of ‘Tech in our world’, exploring young people’s views on the role of technology in their lives, recent changes and tech developments and changes young people want to see. 

Online Safety Commissioner Niamh Hodnett said:  

“I am delighted to support this year’s Safer Internet Day, which is a great opportunity to reflect on the work being done around the world to create a safer online world, particularly for children. We at Coimisiún na Meán are ready to play our part through the implementation of our Online Safety Framework, as part of the Global Online Safety Regulators Network and with our counterparts in other Member States of the EU through the European Digital Services Board and the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media. Since I started my role in March last year, I have heard from a wide range of groups representing children and young people, including our own Youth Advisory Committee, and we look forward to making a positive impact for them.” 

Coimisiún na Meán is putting its Online Safety Framework into action in 2024. This will bring an end to the era of self-regulation and make online platforms accountable for how they keep their users, especially children, safe online.  Different pieces of legislation will come together to form this overall online safety framework: 

• The Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022, the basis for An Coimisiún’s Online Safety Code 
• The EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive 
• The EU Digital Services Act (fully applicable from February 17th 2024) 
• The EU Terrorist Content Online Regulation 

Coimisiún na Meán also continues to support Media Literacy Ireland and the Be Media Smart Campaign, to ensure that everyone in Ireland has the skills and confidence to access information online, to understand how digital services work and to manage the risks that people can face online. 

Safer Internet Day in Ireland is coordinated by the Irish Safer Internet Centre, a partnership between Webwise, ISPCC, National Parents Council Primary and Hotline.ie, providing a range of complementary online safety services, including an education and awareness centre, child and parent helplines and a hotline. The Centre is coordinated by the Department of Justice and co-funded by the European Union.