Meta and TikTok explain response to Dublin riots and misinformation

Social media companies have explained their reaction to the Dublin riots that resulted in millions of euro worth of damage to public infrastructure.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin said in the aftermath of the riots that he was concerned at the “rapid mobilisation of so many people via social media platforms”.

Dublin-headquartered companies Meta, TikTok and Google appeared before the Oireachtas media committee to discuss disinformation, media literacy and the response to the disorder in Dublin city that made headlines internationally.

Several members of the committee criticised social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, for not appearing before the committee.

Sinn Fein TD Imelda Munster said during the committee that their non-attendance was partly because of “ongoing legal proceedings” and asked for clarity on what that referred to.

“I don’t think that’s good enough,” she said in relation to the suggestion of answering queries in writing or in a private session.

Fine Gael TD Ciaran Cannon encouraged X employees to “drop an email to the owner of Twitter”, tech billionaire Elon Musk, suggesting that he “desist from commenting on affairs within Ireland, which he patently knows nothing about”.

He added that he “personally served to stoke up hatred and conflict in recent times here in Ireland and he should be deeply ashamed of those actions”.

Dualta O Broin, head of public policy of Meta in Ireland, told the committee the company had taken “significant” steps to tackle false information, and had removed 1,000 pieces of misinformation from Facebook in the first half of this year.

He said they have partnered with 26 factcheckers across the EU, and that “debunking” labels have been applied to 1.1 million posts on Facebook originating in Ireland in the first half of this year.