Paul Tweed

Mr Tweed told The Journal that he is discussing with with cyberpsychology professor Mary Aiken the possibility of a legal action focused on screen addiction.

A group action can be brought under the relatively new Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Act 2023 by a consumer organisation designated by the government as a ‘qualified entity’.

Mr Tweed said the Irish courts would be the “preferred choice” for the lawsuit, given that many major tech companies are headquartered in Dublin, but this would be “subject to funding arrangements being allowed, and subject to the classification, whether a group action would suffice”.

He continued: “But I’m looking at that at the moment — the likelihood is group action in Ireland, but it’s obviously subject to quite a number of caveats.”

Mr Tweed has also said social media companies should be held responsible for their AI output.

“Up to now, the platforms have claimed ‘we’re not a publisher’ because they don’t create their own content,” he said.

“Generative AI does create some content. It creates new content, stuff that it’s bringing in as a sort of a news aggregator or an information aggregator.

“So they can’t use the old social media argument, that ‘we have no input on what’s put in our platforms’. I think that’s going to be crucial.”