Domestic politics and international relations are now increasingly entwined with the challenges posed by powerful technology companies. That was abundantly clear this week through events on both sides of the Atlantic.
On Tuesday, a Republican-controlled panel of the US Congress published a report alleging that Irish and EU regulators censored social media coverage of Ireland’s general and presidential elections. The report claimed Coimisiún na Meán worked with biased fact-checkers to disadvantage conservative parties, claims dismissed as “nonsense” by the European Commission.
The following day, an Oireachtas committee heard from Meta, Google and TikTok on online safety. X refused to attend despite invitations from both the committee and the Taoiseach. At the same time, a Washington committee was hearing testimony that X faces a “pincer movement” from Irish and European regulators. The heated language reflects how the activities of US technology companies in Europe are an increasing source of conflict.
Freedom of speech is a core value of any democratic society. There are, however, differences in how that principle is interpreted across jurisdictions. The claim that American speech rights are being damaged by European laws conveniently ignores that fact.
RM Block
It is also rank hypocrisy. The Trump administration has used its regulatory powers to pressurise broadcasters to change editorial policy. It claims the right to access social media records of people entering the US. And the president himself has intimidated proprietors of the largest American media companies to bend to his will.
America is far from the free speech paradise claimed by those who attack European regulations. Both its political parties are compromised by the financial influence of powerful donors, many within the technology sector, and US laws on data privacy and consumer protection lag well behind the EU.
European states are equally aware they have failed to keep pace with American tech sector dynamism, a major contributory factor in the economic imbalance that has widened between the two continents over the past decade.
Against this backdrop, Ireland’s position as the European headquarters of major US tech companies is particularly precarious. That may explain the Government’s cautious response to calls for age limits on social media use.
That caution was criticised by the Opposition this week. But the Government is correct that these challenges must be met at European level. Only through well-formulated and coordinated action can protection of citizens be balanced against technology giants grown accustomed to operating above democratic accountability.
