Senator who was vilified online wants social media to be policed

‘We need a safety commissioner’

A FINE Gael senator has called for stricter regulation on social media after she was forced to complain to gardaí about vile abuse and sinister messages she has received online.

Catherine Noone, who chaired the Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment, was one of a number of women involved the Repeal campaign who were honoured at the Woman of the Year Awards at the weekend.

After receiving the award and posting pictures online, she was horrified to see one user had Photoshopped it and replaced the image of the award with a graphic picture of an aborted foetus, which was shared a number of times.

She was also subjected to abusive messages from several users, most of whom appear to have a pro-life stance and who rounded on her pro-choice views.

A number of Facebook followers branded her ‘evil’ and told her she will have ‘no peace’ in her life, while another user reposted or shared her images with the message ‘show the baby murderers there are consequences’.

It is understood that Ms Noone deleted much of the abuse and notified Facebook which also removed abusive messages. She also contacted gardaí about the abuse.

The Senator is also calling for stronger policing of social media sites and believes a Digital Safety Commissioner with power to remove abusive posts should be appointed, along with a minister for the internet.

She told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘The positive that has to come from this is that we have to try to do something about it.

‘I am looking for support from colleagues to really address this.

Whatever about adults and parliamentarians who can handle it to a large degree – it sets a tone for debate and conversation in the country that is really becoming normalised. We are getting desensitised to it and it will affect children.

‘I am fairly used to this, and yet I am slightly fearful at the tone of the messages and tweets I have received in the last couple of days. And that doesn’t feel great. I can’t imagine how it feels for an adolescent, who is much less equipped to deal with it.’

Ms Noone said she doesn’t believe a Digital Safety Commissioner would be a ‘panacea’, but believes it would ‘give some structure to how we are going to handle this on an ongoing basis’.

‘This isn’t going away, the online life is life for younger people,’ she added. ‘Whether we think it is a good or bad thing, that’s the way it is.’

She said she is ‘very encouraged by the fact’ that Richard Bruton ‘now holds the post he holds’ and is ‘very hopeful he will action the Digital Safety Commissioner’.

‘No legislator wants to have to interfere with freedom of expression. But there clearly is an issue to be addressed for younger generations in particular who are faced with this,’ she said.

‘We have seen so many horrific cases of younger people being subjected to harassment and bullying online that have really ended in such a sad way. And the idea that we would stand by and idly watch is something I think we could look back at and be ashamed that we didn’t do more about it.’

In an open post on her Facebook page, The Senator wrote: ‘For info: I block people who post horrendous abuse and horrible imagery on my Facebook. I also block or ban people who incite hatred and who’d like to show me that there are consequences.’

‘I am slightly fearful at tone’ ‘This isn’t going away’