Top 5 Irish tech policy stories of the week

Ireland fined by EU Court of Justice for failure to transpose Audiovisual Media Services Directive

The EU Court of Justice has imposed a fine of €2.5m on Ireland for?delays in bringing online video-sharing platforms under the scope of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), for the purposes of combating hate speech and protecting minors from harmful content.?Coimisiún na Meán?is currently finalising an Online Safety Code to regulate video-sharing platforms but it will not be ready until later this year. Meanwhile, the?deadline for transposing the directive was 19 September 2020. The Court is also ordering Ireland to pay a daily penalty of €10,000 to the European Commission for as long as the failure to comply with the directive continues. The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media?said?that Ireland accepts the judgment and will study it in detail.

Over 100 people contact Coimisiún na Meán's contact centre since its opening

Over 100 people have sent emails or made telephone calls to Coimisiún na Meán 's?(CnaM) contact centre since it opened on February 19th, CnaM told the Oireachtas Enterprise Committee. Seven cases have been escalated to its digital services complaints team, which will follow them up with the relevant companies as they concern potential breaches of the EU Digital Services Act. The Commission said that the other contacts were either general queries, broadcasting complaints referred to the commission’s broadcasting unit or requests for the removal of content that the person did not like, which is not its role. Digital Services Commissioner John Evans told the committee that he was building up CnaM’s platform supervision and investigations team, which will engage directly with online platforms as part of the State’s enforcement of the DSA.

Barclays publish analysis on data centres in Ireland

A new?investment research paper by Barclays on data centres in Ireland found that?Ireland’s continued?popularity as a date centre location was put down to five Ps: policy, people, pedigree, power and pipes. The paper also found that the latest restrictions on data centre development in Dublin?have effectively “capped future development”?unless data centres can demonstrate on-site energy generation and a clear pathway to net zero. Therefore data centre operators in Ireland are now having to decarbonise at a accelerated pace.?While the report found potentional that data centres developers will pursue locations outside Dublin, the risk that they will move to another country is "limited".

Electoral Commission chair warns of "malevolent actors" online

Speaking ahead of the upcoming referenda Justice Marie Baker, chair of An Coimisiún Toghcháin, The Electoral Commission , said that the Commission?must be alert to “malevolent actors” spreading false information online ahead of their new powers coming into effect.

Dublin City Council launch smart tourism initiatives

Dublin City Council has announced the development of various smart tourism initiatives, including a partnership with OpenAI to leverage AI technology.