Information for students

Protecting children and young people from illegal and harmful content online is one of our key priorities. We understand that once a child or young person sees something upsetting or distressing online it can’t be unseen, and it could have lasting negative effects.

Coimisiún na Meán was set up in March 2023 and, since then, new laws and rules have been brought in to help keep children protected from harm online.

Watch our video about the rights you have under our Online Safety Framework.

For more information about these new rules and how they are trying to improve online platforms, look at our Online Safety Framework page.

If you’re worried about something you saw online, or you’re wondering how to report to the various online platforms, have a look at our Reporting page. You can also get in touch with our advice centre by emailing [email protected].

If you have other questions about who we are and what we do, see our FAQs for students below. If there are any other questions you might have, get in touch with us at [email protected].

FAQ for students

What rights do I have under these new rules?

Overall, as a young person, you have the right to be protected from harm online. You have the right to report illegal or harmful content. Reporting functions should be easy to find and easy to use. When you sign up to a platform, the Terms and Conditions should be easy to understand. As a young person, you have the right not to receive targeted ads and ads should be clearly labelled. These rules also oblige platforms to take measures so that you don’t see harmful content online in the first place.

What do you mean by illegal or harmful content online?

Illegal content online includes terrorist content, extreme violence, and child sexual abuse material. In general, if something is illegal in the real world, it is also illegal online.
Harmful content online includes cyberbullying, dangerous challenges, content promoting suicide or self-harm, or content promoting eating disorders.

Are there not rules and laws already in Ireland that look at the online space? What about Coco’s Law?

Yes, in the past few years, there have been new rules and laws in Ireland that include the online space. Coco’s Law (or the Harassment, Harmful Communication and Related Offences Act, 2020) addresses the sharing of intimate images online and malicious cyberbullying.

What happens if I see any of this harmful or illegal content online? What do I do?

You need to report this content on the platform where you first saw it. These new rules oblige platforms to take down this illegal content and to make it easy for you to report it. Reporting illegal content online is sometimes a different process to reporting harmful content – you may need to outline the laws that this content breaks in your country.

Do these rules apply to every platform on the internet?

No. One of the rules (under the Digital Services Act) applies to VLOPs (very large online platforms, e.g. Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn) and VLOSEs (very large online search engines, i.e. Google, Bing) based in Ireland. VLOPs and VLOSEs have over 45 million users in the EU. Platforms and search engines that have fewer than 45 million users also have some obligations under these rules.

The Online Safety Code (OSC) applies to video-sharing platforms that are based in Ireland – these are YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Tumblr, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Udemy and X. The Terrorism Content Online Regulation (TCOR) applies to Hosting Service Providers (HSPs). For more information on these various laws, look at legislation explained.

What about disinformation? That is harmful, but it is not illegal. Can I report this?

Some platforms allow you to report disinformation. Platforms are not obliged to remove posts that contain misinformation or disinformation. There may be content online that isn’t true, that you don’t agree with, or that you don’t like, but this doesn’t mean that it will be removed if you report it. If this content is not illegal or if it doesn’t go against the platform’s Terms and Conditions, it is unlikely to be removed.
It is important to talk to a trusted adult about issues that concern you online. If you need help assessing if information is accurate or not, have a look at our Be Media Smart website. Here you will find links to fact-checking organisations.

What if nothing happens after I report this illegal/harmful content? What do I do then?

If there is no way to report this content, or if the platform doesn’t reply to you in a timely manner explaining why it removed or didn’t remove content, you have the right to report this to Coimisiún na Meán.

What happens then?

If you report to Coimisiún na Meán, we will ask you further questions so we can look into the issue. Sometimes, we are not the best organisation to help you and we may signpost you to others.

Please note, we don’t have the powers to immediately take down illegal content from the internet. However, if we find a platform is systematically breaking the rules, we can start an investigation. If this investigation finds that the platform has broken the rules, we can impose significant fines. Have a look at our various laws on our Online Safety Framework page.

Information for students

FAQ for students

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