A LONG FIGHT THAT FINALLY SAW A WIN FOR COMMON SENSE

THE result of yesterday’s Dáil vote comes after almost two years of campaigners – and this newspaper – calling for the Government to recognise the dangers of children giving their data to tech firms.

The topic first grabbed attention when all EU countries were given until the end of this month to decide on a digital age of consent ahead of the EU General Data Protection Regulation coming into effect on May 25.

In 2016, the Department of Justice ran a public consultation process regarding what age the digital age of consent should be set. Inspector Seán O’Reardon sent a submission on behalf of the Garda Commissioner supporting the age of consent to be 16, and even proposed that it would be raised to 18 ‘when the material relates in any way to sexual activity’.

Groups advocating for the age to be set at 13 included the Ombudsman for

Horrifying cases of online grooming

Children, the ISPCC, the American Chamber of Commerce and the Children’s Rights Alliance.

Despite the Garda warning not to lower age, the Cabinet did not follow this advice and agreed in July 2017 that the age should be set at 13.

However, as the GDPR deadline loomed closer, an Oireachtas Committee began hearing arguments earlier this year from groups on both sides of the debate.

Setting the digital age of consent at 13 was firmly opposed by cyberpsychologist Mary Aiken and data analytics expert Professor Barry O’Sullivan, who both insisted that the age be raised to 16.

Dr Aiken raised concerns about the possible impact of handing over their data would have on children’s mental health, and questioned why the digital age of consent would be less than the age of medical consent.

‘There’s a strong relationship between physical health and mental health,’ she said. ‘How can a child not consent to medical treatment under the age of 16 but consent to doing something that could affect their mental health?’ The Teachers Union of Ireland and the Irish National Teachers Organisation were also opposed to the digital age being at 13.

Despite experts warning of the dangers of social media companies gathering children’s data, the committee rejected proposals to amend the Data Protection Bill 2017 to raise the age of digital consent to 16.

Throughout the debate process, a number of horrifying cases of online child grooming came to light, highlighting the risks of young people using social media and raising the questions as to how safe our children really are online.

Concerns about children’s free-for-all access to social media apps were sparked at the beginning of this year following the cases of children groomed by jailed child predator Matthew Horan. The cases shocked the public, and lead to teachers, parents, medical professionals and cyber experts speaking out about their fears for children online, all of which was highlighted in the Irish Daily Mail.