Coimisiún na Meán, has today announced the decision to grant Trusted Flagger status to the Central Bank of Ireland. Under the Digital Services Act (DSA), Coimisiún na Meán as the Digital Services Coordinator in Ireland has the power to award Trusted Flagger status to entities established in Ireland who meet certain conditions.
Trusted Flaggers are empowered to identify, detect and notify illegal content within their area of expertise to online platforms. Providers of online platforms are then legally obliged to ensure that notices of the presence of illegal content, reported by Trusted Flaggers are given priority and decided upon without undue delay.
Speaking about the announcement today, Digital Services Commissioner, John Evans said: “Coimisiún na Meán is committed to ensuring a media landscape that consumers can trust, and where they are protected from exploitation and fraud. We recognise that financial scams and fraud are a concern to the Irish public, and we welcome the Central Bank of Ireland’s expertise in this area. By granting the Central Bank of Ireland Trusted Flagger Status, we are legally obliging online platforms to ensure that any illegal online content reported by the Central Bank of Ireland, such as financial scams and fraud, are prioritised by the platform and dealt with in a timely manner”.
“The Trusted Flagger status is a new statutory mechanism that offers empowerment for organisations by placing obligations on the platforms to give priority to Trusted Flagger notifications. Entities awarded Trusted Flagger status are recognised as such across the EU. Trusted Flaggers will also feed into Coimisiún na Meán’s identification of trends and issues via annual reports which will be instrumental in establishing an informed, evidence-based approach to our platform supervisory activities.”
Meanwhile, Gabriel Makhlouf, Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, said: “The Central Bank of Ireland is delighted to be the first organisation in the country to be granted Trusted Flagger Status by Coimisiún na Meán. This accreditation marks another milestone in the Bank’s commitment to protecting consumers and strengthens our efforts to disrupt the activities of unauthorised providers of regulated financial services. We look forward to continuing our work to strengthen the framework of consumer protection in Ireland through this new status.”
Under Article 22 of the DSA, Trusted Flagger status can be granted to entities who meet the following conditions:
- It has particular expertise and competence for the purposes of detecting, identifying and notifying illegal content;
- It is independent from any provider of online platforms;
- It carries out its activities for the purposes of submitting notices diligently, accurately and objectively.
The Central Bank of Ireland have been granted the Trusted Flagger status for three years, from 2 April 2025 to 2 April 2028. Their designated area of expertise is financial scams and fraud, including the provision and/or offer of financial services without authorisation. Upon the expiry of the accreditation period the Trusted Flagger status is reassessed and, where appropriate, re-granted.
Further information on the role of Trusted Flaggers and the obligations of online platforms in respect of notices issued by Trusted Flaggers can be found on our dedicated Trusted Flaggers page on our website.