Paul Tweed

Media lawyer Paul Tweed confirmed to Irish Legal News that he is in talks with a number of large US-based firms about bringing a collective action against Twitter and other platforms.

On Sunday, he told the Business Post that the planned lawsuit represents “a Rubik’s cube of a problem” because Ireland — where most social media platforms have their European base — does not allow class action lawsuits.

He said: “So we’re looking at helping Irish people by perhaps looking at it from a quasi-US/Irish approach. It’s at an embryonic stage, but I will get there, you can be sure of that.”

Mr Tweed has also criticised Twitter’s new billionaire owner Elon Musk, saying that his widely-reported plans to relax moderation on the platform will mean “there is going to be no protection for people who are currently having their lives destroyed”.

He added: “It’s all very well having this utopian dream, but this isn’t a village square, it’s a global stratosphere that he’s dealing with. He’s basically taking the view that it’s every man for himself.”

In September, Mr Tweed told the Law Society of Northern Ireland’s centenary conference that social media companies should be held legally responsible for what users post on their platforms in order to protect individuals from defamation, harassment and abuse.