Irish regulator opens formal investigation into X over child access, parental controls

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X did not immediately respond to a request for comment [File] | Photo Credit: REUTERS

An Irish regulator has begun a formal investigation into social media platform X ⁠over concerns about potential child access to ⁠material depicting pornography and violence and the effectiveness of parental controls, it said on Tuesday.

Media regulator Coimisiún na Meán has the power to apply a fine of up to 10% of “relevant annual turnover” under Ireland’s Online Safety Code.

Under the code, age assurance is required to ensure that children do not see videos “depicting pornography or extreme/gross and gratuitous violence or acts of ⁠cruelty,” the regulator said in a statement announcing the investigation.

It said concerns had arisen in relation to the “potential ineffective implementation of age assurance mechanisms by X,” adding that age assurance based solely on self-declaration is not considered effective.

X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Its website says the company takes a “multi-faceted age assurance approach to verify or estimate whether users are 18 or under.”

In its statement the ⁠regulator also cited concerns that parental controls put ⁠in place by X “may not be effective, do not have minimum requirements, are hard to locate and are not brought to the attention of new users at sign-up stage.”

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