MINISTER ‘WILLING TO LISTEN’ TO HIS COLLEAGUES ON DIGITAL CONSENT
COMMUNICATIONS Minister Denis Naughten says he is prepared to listen to the views of his colleagues in the ongoing debate over the digital age of consent.
Minister Naughten made the comment as he was quizzed about the controversial decision to set the age at 13, which effectively allows children to sign up for services – including social media – without the explicit approval or permission of their parents or guardians.
Senator Michael McDowell has tabled an amendment to the Bill, seeking to have the age of consent changed from 13 to 16, the highest possible option available in the EU. Yesterday, the Senator invited cyber safety experts Dr Mary Aiken and Professor Barry O’Sullivan to address colleagues at an information session on the issue in Leinster House.
Speaking to the Irish Daily Mail prior to the session, Senator McDowell said he was ‘against the gradual erosion of childhood and the commercialisation of kids’. His concerns echo those of his Seanad colleague Fine Gael Senator Catherine Noone, who last week criticised her own Government’s decision on the age of consent.
Minister Naughten said he would appear before an Oireachtas committee next week and that the digital age of consent was ‘an issue that I am quite willing to listen to the views of the committee on in relation to it’.
However, he stressed he believes awareness and education for parents and children remains an important factor in how we ‘grapple with these issues’. He told the Mail: ‘As you know, many of the NGOs have very different views on this. And this is an issue that was discussed at Government.’
He continued: ‘The decision was taken at a threshold of 13. We have to set the bar at a point in relation to this, and I know that there has been some debate over the last number of days. We are listening to those issues, but remember there is not a uniform view on this right across the sector. And at the end of the day, the Government has to make a call on that.’
This Seanad debate is set to continue.