Irish Government to confirm social media ban on under 16s today

The Irish Government is set to announce its decision on an outright ban on social media use for children under 16.

The Digital and AI Strategy, now under Cabinet review, is set to begin a pilot of an age-verification system in March to help enforce the current digital age of consent. Several major platforms have already agreed to participate in the pilot, which is being led by Communications Minister Patrick O’Donovan.

While the Government prefers to work with the EU to introduce wider restrictions, Ministers have said that they are prepared to act on it's own if necessary. The age verification system being developed is intended to be privacy-protective, legally sound, and workable across all devices.

A unilateral social media ban for under-16s could face a legal challenge if it lacks an evidence base and conflicts with EU policy. Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary has expressed caution regarding the use of the Public Services Card (PSC) for age verification in this context, stressing the PSC's primary role in social protection services.

"We're very early days on this yet, but let's not lose sight of why we're doing this,” said Calleary, RTÉ's Today with David McCullagh. “It's to protect our children from the worst excesses of social media. I think there's a general agreement that that needs to be done."

Digital Rights Ireland Chairperson TJ McIntyre has described the Government's age plans as worrying and represented a "lack of joined-up thinking".

"This is something that has gone off on what is essentially the whim of the executive without any prior consultation,” he said, speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland. "I would be very concerned that the whole thing is starting rather half-cocked,"