Taoiseach open to meeting Elon Musk amid Ireland's online safety crackdown
The Fine Gael leader and Justice Minister Helen McEntee condemned online threats against the Taoiseach and his family.
Taoiseach Simon Harris has said he would be willing to meet X CEO Elon Musk as he stated owners of social media companies could be fined under Ireland’s new online crackdown. The Fine Gael leader and Justice Minister Helen McEntee condemned online threats against the Taoiseach and his family.
Gardai were alerted to the posts in which a person claimed they had “knives out” for Mr Harris. They remained on Instagram for several days over the Bank Holiday weekend. The post is also understood to have stated that it would be nothing compared to what would be done to Mr Harris’s wife and children.
Speaking on Wednesday, the Taoiseach said he would not comment on specific incidents but warned that social media companies cannot be allowed to act like the “Wild West” and that Online Safety Codes being progressed by Coimisiún na Meán will regulate platforms.
He said the code will impose fines on social media companies who do not comply and “hit them in the pocket” where “it hurts”. When initially asked about Mr Musk, who was criticised by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier this week for wading into the riots in the UK and said a “civil war is inevitable” the Taoiseach said that he did “not intend to massage their ego any further by talking about” him.
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However, he later said he would be willing to meet the owner of X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Social media doesn't get to absolve itself,” Mr Harris said.
“This is a form of media and therefore it has to be subjected to laws [and] rules. It also has to really recognise the speed at which information can spread versus that of traditional media. “It does have real, significant consequences if it's wrong. If it's dangerous, if it's inciting hatred. These are not small or trivial matters.
“There are children mentally unwell in our country today as a result of this. There are probably children and young people who may not be with us today in this world as a result of cyberbullying. With companies that make great billions of euro and dollars and everything else – and fair play to them, good luck to them – comes great responsibility. I’ll meet with anybody to have that engagement. Of course, I will.”
Mr Harris said the social media codes currently being developed were considering the “ability to hold directors personally responsible” for content. When asked if this meant Mr Musk could be sanctioned under the new code, the Taoiseach said he did not want to get into naming names.
He continued: “You want to focus on Elon Musk. I don't care what their name is. We can pick anyone’s name. Best of luck to him [weighing into debates in other countries]. Elon Musk is a citizen of whatever end of the world. That's fine. My concern isn’t Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg or whatever their name is.
“My concern is the protection, safety and wellbeing of people in this country, of the European Union of which we're a member, of the young people whose parents have pangs of anxiety about the impacts that online and social media has on their children's wellbeing.”
Mr Harris also warned that people making social media threats will be “taken as seriously as a threat that is made in person and you will face the full rigours of the law.”
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