Today’s announcement that the State’s media regulator will investigate potential breaches of EU law by Meta is welcome, but the buck stops with the Data Protection Commission when it comes to holding tech giants responsible for their wrongdoings, according to Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney.
Deputy Gibney, who sits on the Oireachtas AI Committee, said:
“Coimisiún na Meán’s announcement that it is investigating Meta platforms, including Instagram and Facebook, to determine whether their use of recommender algorithms have breached the Digital Services Act is a step in the right direction.
“However, this investigation would not be necessary if Meta had done what it was asked to do and turned off these algorithms in the first place – it is obliged to do so under the GDPR.
“The investigation will determine whether users are pushed towards feeds which are compiled by profiling the user and collating their personal data, which would be in breach of the DSA.
“In March, a seismic court ruling in the United States found Meta deliberately designed social media platforms that are harmful to children and young people. Last week, the European Commission found that Meta is doing very little to prevent minors under the age of 13 from using its platforms.
“We’ve known for some time now that social media companies are not taking their responsibilities seriously, showing no intention to self-regulate even in the face of fines.
“While Coimisiún na Meán’s investigation is positive news, the responsibility lies with the Data Protection Commission to hold Meta and other social media giants to account for their violations of the GDPR, in particular articles 8 and 9, which relate to parental consent and the processing of data without explicit consent.
“Until the DPC takes action against the companies which violate these regulations, Meta and its platforms will continue to expose its users to harm. The DPC must follow Coimisiún na Meán’s lead and take substantive action against Meta.”
May 6th, 2026