Government urged to meet social media companies in wake of M9 carnage

The government have been urged to meet social media companies to to stop the sharing of people driving on the wrong side of motorways for social media clicks, in the wake of Sunday's horrific collision on the M9.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín called for an immediate government response to the tragedy, in which five teenagers lost their lives and four people were seriously injured and are in hospital.

Deputy Tóibín said: “The grim news that reached people over the weekend about the deaths of five teenagers and the serious injuries that were caused to a family on the way to the airport shocked so many people to the core. The country is united in praying for the full recovery of all those who are currently injured and in hospital”.

He said there are a number of steps that the government can take. "The production and sharing of social media posts that feature this practice cannot be allowed to continue. A meeting with social media companies to stop this needs to happen as soon as possible.

"Videos are regularly posted on social media showing criminal activity. Even when they are reported to the social media companies, they are not removed. They remain up getting likes, clicks and comments. We even see teenagers post updates of their criminal behaviours”.

Deputy Tóibin points out that Article 18 of the Digital Services Act requires hosting service providers to instantly inform gardaí if they suspect a serious criminal offence involving a threat to life or safety.

"There is little evidence that this ever happens in Ireland. What audit process is the government undertaking to ascertain what each social media company is doing to take down these posts immediately. Do the government ever check to see how many times that content has been banned and deleted? Is Coimisiún na Meán fining social media platforms for not acting on these life-threatening posts?

“Are the gardaí following social media posts to prosecute? It seems wrong that people are actually posting evidence of themselves committing crimes and yet it does not seem to be used to prosecute. Is there an organisational strategy in the gardaí to do this?”

He said the gardaí need to be trained properly to pursue. "The fact that many gardaí do not have the necessary training even to switch on a blue light or a siren is an outstanding dereliction of duty by the government. In all the discussions that have been had about scramblers and e scooters, it remains the case that gardaí are telling elected representatives that they cannot pursue.

"In 2021, three men died after driving on the wrong side of the road while being pursued by the gardaí. A garda involved in that incident faced criminal charges for dangerous driving and endangerment.

"In the case, this weekend gardaí were not engaging in pursuit. That may have been because of a safety judgement at the time, or because they don’t have the training and the backing of the law.

"Training for pursuit is not unusual in police forces; practically all other western police forces are trained to do it”.

Deputy Toibin outlined other solutions. "Wrong way driving alerts can be implemented on motorway signs. There is a tech traffic system that sets off major road alarms, not just to warn the driver going the wrong way, but also, crucially, the drivers on the correct side. There are also one-way tyre deflation devices that can be implemented for people driving down the wrong way on off ramps.

“Personal responsibility needs also to be enforced. On the general issue of wrong way driving, it is potentially a life destroying action and individuals who do it or encourage it need to take direct responsibility for the enormous damage that they are doing,” he concluded.