The White House has warned Irish regulators that they could be in trouble if they censor speech on social media platforms that would be considered to be protected in the US.
This is according to the Sunday Times, which reported that visa restrictions may be imposed on senior Coimisiún na Meán personnel under these terms.
Sunday Times journalist Patrick O'Donoghue told The Anton Savage Show that since many American tech companies are based in Ireland, we will be at the forefront of moderation efforts.
“I suppose, the bigger context of this is Marco Rubio’s recent announcement of a policy whereby officials who are deemed by the Trump regime to be censoring American speech, they would have visa restrictions applied to them,” he said.
“So, Ireland is in a bit of a tight spot in relation to all of this with hate speech laws.
“Obviously we have a deadline of the 7th of July to decide what we’re going to do with hate speech legislation.
“We’re under a bit of pressure from the European Union, but then obviously from across the Atlantic, the Americans would take a pretty different view.”
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Mr O’Donoghue said that while members within the Department of Justice and Coimisiún na Meán have stressed there were no hostilities in meetings with US officials, it is clear that pressure will be applied to the Irish Government in regards to this issue.
“It’s going to be really interesting to see how this all plays out, what the Department of Justice eventually decides what it is going to do in relation to hate speech,” he said.
“And how that is going to impact on our relationship with Trump’s regime, with the Americans.
“It’s probably going to have some profound implications for Ireland’s diplomatic relations and ties with America.”
According to Mr O’Donoghue, this is a “live issue, and very much one to watch”.
Main image: The White House.
