The report warned that the new regulator “must be appropriately staffed and resourced” when it is set up. It said as Ireland was the European headquarters of a number of social media giants, the regulator would be “very much in the spotlight”, posing a “reputational risk to Ireland should the system be perceived as under-performing”.The experts advised that the introduction of an individual complaint mechanism should be phased in at a later point after the regulator was up and running.
As such the report said the online codes for companies should be in force for at least a year before the commission starts to introduce a way for the public to lodge complaints. The report said people should first have raised their complaint with social media companies, before coming to the regulator if they are unhappy with the response.Funding to be able to deal with increased demand from complaints from the public could be drawn from a levy on social media companies, which is included in the legislation, the group recommended.
Commenting on the report, Ms Martin said the expert group had “sensibly recommended a phased approach” to allow for individual complaints. The Minister said she would now seek Government approval to amend the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill to include the recommendations.