A sinister threat against Simon Harris was posted to Instagram and remained live for days, even after An Garda Síochána asked the platform to remove it, according to RTÉ News.

In a statement yesterday, Coimisiún na Meán said online platforms are required under the DSA to respond to reports of illegal content “in a timely and diligent manner”.

It continued: “Coimisiún na Meán does not have powers to compel the immediate removal of illegal content from online platforms. Our role is to make sure that the platforms’ content reporting systems are working effectively in compliance with the law.

“We met with Meta about the threats directed at An Taoiseach and his family. We have also been in touch with representatives from An Garda Síochána and the European Commission about this incident.

“We are now assessing Meta’s compliance with their obligations under the EU Digital Services Act. We will be following up with Meta to seek further information about the circumstances of this incident and their response. We will then consider our next steps.

“We have a range of powers available to us under our Online Safety Framework, which consists of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act, the EU Digital Services Act and the EU Terrorist Content Online Regulation.”