Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 September 2025
253. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to confirm which body will have ultimate decision-making authority to determine what constitutes "mal-information" under the National Counter Disinformation Strategy, and whether that body will be Government-led, quasi-independent or fully independent. [49472/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra256. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to specify whether "mal-information," as defined in the National Counter Disinformation Strategy, includes factually accurate reporting which is politically embarrassing to the Government, its Ministers or State-funded agencies.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49475/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra257. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport whether ordinary citizens, whistleblowers or journalists could face sanctions under the strategy for sharing true information that is deemed harmful; and the protections in place for press freedom and public interest reporting. [49476/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra258. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to clarify how "harm" will be defined when assessing "mal-information," and who will have authority to make that assessment. [49477/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra261. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if he accepts that giving the State- or State-funded bodies the power to decide what is "trusted" information risks creating a chilling effect on democratic debate and public scrutiny of Government actions. [49481/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Question Nos 253, 256, 257, 258 and 261 together.
The National Counter Disinformation Strategy, published in April 2025, uses the European Democracy Action Plan definition of disinformation: “false or misleading content that is spread with an intention to deceive or secure economic or political gain and which may cause public harm". The Strategy sets out that disinformation does not include misleading advertising, reporting errors, satire and parody, or clearly identified partisan news and commentary.
The Strategy aims to coordinate a range of existing tools and regulatory approaches in the fight against disinformation, including supporting media literacy and promoting high quality journalism to help people make their own decisions about what is or isn’t true.
A well-informed citizenry cannot exist without freedom of the press. Ireland has a robust legislative and policy framework in place to ensure press and media freedom. The freedom of the press is enshrined in Article 40.6 of our Constitution and Article 11 of the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights, and the independence of our public service media from Government is clearly set out in legislation.
The existing regulatory framework in Ireland will be strengthened by the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), which aims to protect media freedom and pluralism across the EU. EMFA will be implemented in Ireland primarily through the Media (Regulation) Bill, and will add a further layer of protection for media plurality and diversity in the State.
The Strategy aims to support the building of public knowledge, build resilience to disinformation, support the effective implementation of existing legislation and regulations, identify and coordinate efforts to counter disinformation across a range of policy areas and bring together a broad range of disinformation counter measures to ensure cross-sector coordinationand cooperation. As set out in the Strategy, legislative and regulatory measures to combat disinformation must respect individuals’ right to privacy and data protection, freedom of expression and access to information rights while online platforms must continually assess, identify and mitigate systemic risks to prevent the amplification of disinformation online.
A key tenet of countering disinformation and misinformation is supporting news coverage and public interest journalism that is trustworthy, accessible and objective. Importantly, the Strategy aims to connect existing stakeholders across multiple sectors, facilitating enhanced cooperation and collaboration in our efforts to counter disinformation, in a way that upholds the principles of the strategy which includes protecting freedom of expression.
It should be noted that the term malinformation is not used in the Strategy. The EU Disinformation Laboratory defines the term as information that is based on reality but which is used to harm or threaten a person, an organisation, or a country. Terms such as disinformation, misinformation and malinformation are sometimes used synonymously.
