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Ireland plans to leverage its upcoming EU presidency to advocate for mandatory ID verification on social media platforms across the European Union. The initiative targets anonymous accounts, bots, and online abuse that undermine democratic stability.
In an interview with Irish news outlet Extra.ie, Tanaiste Simon Harris said Ireland would lead calls for the introduction of ID-verified social media accounts across the EU.
The minister added, “We have a digital age of consent in Ireland, which is 16, but it’s simply not being enforced. And I think that’s a really important move. And then I think there’s the broader issue, which will require work that’s not just at an Irish level, around the anonymous bots”.
The Trump administration urged the EU to tackle the tech regulation as sudden data breach can lead to further problems. This week, Washington imposed visa bans on five prominent European figures, including former EU commissioner Thierry Breton and UK-based researcher Imran Ahmed, accusing them of pursuing “extraterritorial censorship” of American companies.
Harris also added that French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer could provide assistance. Ireland’s renewed focus follows the recent sentencing of a Dublin woman, Sandra Barry, who was jailed for six months for sending threatening messages to Harris and his family.
“It’s an issue in relation to our democracy… I mean democracy in the world,” he explained, adding that the tech giants have “the ability to do more, without the need for laws”.