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FACEBOOK will tell a committee of Oireachtas TODAY that it has “concerns” about proposed electoral reform laws in Ireland that would regulate political ads online.
The social media giant will also tell TDs and senators that if the government goes ahead with these reforms, it could put platforms like Facebook in the “undesirable and avoidable situation where they might have to choose between violating Irish law or violate EU law ”.
Twitter, meanwhile, will tell the committee that there is a “remote possibility” that the proposed reforms around social media advertising could negatively affect the daily campaigns of nonprofits and NGOs.
In January, the government published the general outline of the Electoral Reform Bill.
The bill proposes the creation of a statutory and independent Electoral Commission for Ireland.
It would also see the regulation of online political advertising in the run-up to electoral events, along with the modernization of the voter registration process.
Under the general outline of the bill, an online political advertisement is defined as “any form of communication in digital format commissioned for political purposes” to be displayed or promoted on an online platform for which the platform charges money.
It would be a requirement to have a “transparency notice” with the ad stating who paid for the ad, how a person’s target was reached with the ad, and the amount paid. The responsibility will rest with the online platforms to ensure that such information is available for the advertisements that they allow to be served on their sites.
The Oireachtas Joint Housing, Local Government and Heritage Committee is conducting pre-legislative scrutiny on the bill and will hear from Facebook and Twitter representatives on the matter today.
In his opening statement to the commission, Facebook Ireland’s head of public policies, Dualta Ó Broin, will say that the social media firm has analyzed the general scheme of the Electoral Reform Project “with great interest but, on occasions, also with some concerns ”.
“As for the specific wording of the proposed legislation, it seems appropriate to start with the definition of a political advertisement”, Ó Broin will say. “Facebook recommends a more objective definition of political advertising online.
“At a minimum, the legislation should take into account what online intermediaries, such as Facebook, can and cannot do. In short, we can identify whether an ad contains certain content, but we cannot guess what a person’s intention is when placing an ad. The reference to ‘political purpose’ should be replaced by a much more objective test. “
Ó Broin will also say that Facebook has a “wide range of concerns” about transparency requirements.
These include “privacy concerns” about information about an individual that is intended to be shared and the impact of “disclosing specific micro-targeting criteria.”
We also have practical concerns about the suitability of online platforms that collect information on the amount spent on “content creation” and the requirements for advertisers to provide an end date for a campaign. Finally, we are concerned about the information obligations set out in this heading and we wonder if they are proportionate or really necessary in all circumstances.
Elections
Both Twitter and Facebook will say they welcome the government’s reform initiative to ensure the integrity and transparency of the elections.
In the case of Twitter, it will say that its interactions with the UK electoral commission had been “positive” and that it would work with its Irish counterpart once established.
He will say that he already prohibits political advertising, and does so with the belief that “the reach of the political message must be won, not bought.”
Twitter will also say that it takes action against misinformation on its platform when it comes to elections, such as efforts to mislead the outcome of an election or encourage voter suppression or intimidation.
He will also say that his platform has a positive effect on the run-up to the elections.
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“For example, during the Irish general elections in 2020, we saw a consistently high level of positive and healthy political debate on Twitter among interested candidates, parties, voters, journalists, civil society groups and election observers,” Twitter will say.
On the subject of the Electoral Reform Bill, Twitter will say that there is a possibility that the definition of “political purpose” as established in the legislation has a remote possibility of negatively affecting non-profit organizations or NGOs. looking to advertise on online platforms.
You will say: “It would be helpful if this were further clarified. We respectfully affirm that those promotional categories should not be subject to the requirements set forth in the bill. “
Both Twitter and Facebook will express concern about efforts to regulate online platforms at both national and European level.
Twitter will ask for a “coherent set of standards at the European level”, since failure to do so “runs the risk of building virtual walls between our digital communities.”
Facebook will say that the enactment of the Election Reform Bill will now “lead to a misalignment” between Irish rules and EU rules.
“We understand that the Commission intends to publish a legislative proposal for political advertising in the next six months,” said its policy officer Ó Broin.
“There is a very real possibility that online platforms are under two inconsistent regulatory regimes and find themselves in an undesirable (and avoidable) situation where they would have to choose between violating Irish law or violating EU law.”
The Oireachtas Committee will begin its hearing in the Dáil room at 9.30 am this morning.
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