Laws to limit young people’s access to pornography to be considered

Laws to limit young people's access to pornography to be considered

Laws to limit young people’s access to pornography will be considered by the Government in the wake of the Ana Kriegel murder trial.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the Dáil he would consider online age verification and confirmed legislation was being drafted by a Digital Safety Commissioner, The Times reports.

Two 14-year-olds, Boy A and Boy B, became the youngest convicted murderers in the history of the State after being found guilty of Ana’s murder.

Boy A was also found guilty of aggravated sexual assault.

Brendan Howlin said yesterday that Boy A’s phone contained pornographic material.

“Internet searches in previous years are reported to have included child pornography and animal pornography,” the Labour leader told the Dáil. 

“We can clearly and unambiguously say that this material should not be accessible to children.”

A similar law proposed in the UK has been indefinitely postponed due to legal reasons after government officials failed to inform the European Commission of key details.

Mr Varadkar said: “It is a matter of concern that pornography is so accessible to young people and that many learn about sex through pornography, which is not an accurate representation of what is healthy.”

He added that Richard Bruton, the communications minister was bringing forward an online safety bill to ensure children were protected online.

“It will put new requirements, including a safety code, on online platforms and prohibit cyberbullying of minors and harmful material such as that which promotes suicide, self-harm, bulimia or anorexia. There will also be an online safety commissioner, who will certify that the codes are fit for purpose and who may have the power to order take-down in certain circumstances,” the Taoiseach said.

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