50 signatures reached
To: TDs of Dáil Éireann
Turn off the Toxic Algorithms
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We must pass People Before Profit's 'Online Safety (Recommender Algorithms) Bill 2025'. The Bill would require social media platforms to turn off recommender algorithms for under 18s. It would also require that recommender algorithms based on profiling or sensitive personal data have to be actively turned on by adult users.
This bill will be brought to the next stage in the Dáil on Wednesday March 4th, with TDs likely voting on it that night. If the bill is voted down it will 'fall' and will not be brought forward. We can't let this happen!
We must pass People Before Profit's 'Online Safety (Recommender Algorithms) Bill 2025'. The Bill would require social media platforms to turn off recommender algorithms for under 18s. It would also require that recommender algorithms based on profiling or sensitive personal data have to be actively turned on by adult users.
This bill will be brought to the next stage in the Dáil on Wednesday March 4th, with TDs likely voting on it that night. If the bill is voted down it will 'fall' and will not be brought forward. We can't let this happen!
Why is this important?
For ourselves, for our children, we must get rid of these toxic algorithms on social media platforms that push harmful content at people, all for the sake of their profits.
The First Interim Report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Artificial Intelligence published last month recommended that:
"Recommender systems should be switched off by default and social media companies should be banned from turning on recommender algorithms for accounts used by children."
Numerous studies have shown that social media recommender algorithms are bombarding children with harmful material, including material that promotes self-harm, anorexia and suicide and toxic content that promotes misogyny, racism, homophobia and transphobia.
The First Interim Report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Artificial Intelligence published last month recommended that:
"Recommender systems should be switched off by default and social media companies should be banned from turning on recommender algorithms for accounts used by children."
Numerous studies have shown that social media recommender algorithms are bombarding children with harmful material, including material that promotes self-harm, anorexia and suicide and toxic content that promotes misogyny, racism, homophobia and transphobia.
A recent study found that 10 blank male-identified accounts of 16 and 18 year olds on 10 blank smartphones were all fed anti-feminist and other extremist content within just 23 minutes. Within three hours the vast majority of the content recommended was toxic, primarily alpha male and anti-feminist content, with Andrew Tate featuring heavily.
Three-quarters of the public believe that there should be stronger regulation of social media algorithms and, in 2024, Coimisiún na Meán’s draft Online Safety Code included a recommendation to turn off recommender algorithms by default. However, this was scrapped following lobbying by the big tech companies. Social media corporations have created an immensely damaging public health and safety crisis in pursuit of profit, but the Government has failed to take any meaningful action.