Cynthia Ní Mhurchú

Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, a Fianna Fáil MEP for Ireland South, criticised Facebook and Instagram Meta, which this week announced plans to replace independent fact-checking with a community notes policy. 

A campaign group yesterday called on the Irish government to take action over the decision.

Ms Ní Mhurchú described Meta’s move as “a cop-out and a capitulation to the Trumpian-style politics of the wild west”.

The Renew Europe group, to which Fianna Fáil belongs, has called for an urgent plenary debate in the European Parliament on the matter.

“Under the stewardship of Elon Musk, Twitter or X has abandoned all semblance of content moderation, becoming a cesspit of illegal, harmful and destructive content,” Ms Ní Mhurchú said.

“Facebook is now signalling that it intends to go down the same route, abandoning all attempts at independent content moderation.

“These platforms need to realise that the EU will not tolerate a free-for-all. This is a direct threat to European democracy and will be tackled head on by the existing regulations that we have in place.”

She called on the European Commission to enforce the new Digital Services Act (DSA) and ensure that all online platforms, including X and Facebook, are held to account for their role in promoting content that is spreading disinformation, harmful and often illegal content. 

“The Digital Services Act offers the necessary tools to regulate online platforms and protect users from the misuse of their services for political and other gain,” she said.

“It is imperative that the Commission acts swiftly to ensure these safeguards are fully enforced. Coimisiún na Meán also has a role to play in regulating these platforms and everyone will be watching them carefully to see if they are fulfilling their mandate.

“I will continue to push for accountability and transparency in the digital space, and urge all European institutions to take decisive action at this critical moment.”