Irish Council for Civil Liberties 🏳️‍🌈

Digital wallet plan is a dangerous infringement on privacy Mandating the use of a State-run digital identity as a pre-condition for holding or using a social media account would represent a profound expansion of government control, write Olga Cronin and…

"Child safety is a real concern and a legitimate aim. But obliterating online #anonymity is a blunt, dangerous measure that will chill speech and sacrifice the privacy, free expression and security of everyone, with no proven benefit to children."

Read more ➡️ www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

"The problems for the Government, by building on a faulty and legally dubious system, are piling up and, in turn, the Government is risking our rights to privacy, data protection and security as it embarks on potentially creating a State surveillance infrastructure," Olga and Kris write.

The fact that the Minister for Communications, Patrick O'Donovan, announced plans for a digital wallet without any public debate is deeply concerning; and that concern is considerably heightened by the fact that his proposal is based on the existing MyGovID, which has no basis in Irish law.

From a technical perspective, implementing a privacy-respecting, mandatory digital age verification system is incredibly complex. From a rights perspective, it poses risks to our rights to #privacy, data protection, anonymity, access to information, free expression, non-discrimination and #security.

Digital wallet plan is a dangerous infringement on privacy Mandating the use of a State-run digital identity as a pre-condition for holding or using a social media account would represent a profound expansion of government control, write Olga Cronin and…

ICCL Surveillance and Human Rights Senior Policy Officer, Olga Cronin, and ICCL Enforce Senior Fellow, Dr Kris Shrishak, make the case against the government's digital wallet proposal for the Irish Examiner ⬇️ www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

Chatbots considered for providing legal counselling to people seeking asylum, documents suggest The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission doesn’t believe chatbots are suitable “in provision of legal counselling”, a spokesperson said.

I analysed the DoJ’s immigration chatbot for @iccl.bsky.social and the amount of seriously wrong information it gave was shocking even to me. The idea that people fleeing persecution would be expected to rely on a chatbot in lieu of actual legal advice is 😱😱😱

www.dublininquirer.com/chatbots-con...

This is a huge win for @iccl.bsky.social whose @johnnyryan.bsky.social has been arguing for recommender systems to face scrutiny for some time now.

Commission investigates Grok and X\'s recommender systems under the Digital Services Act The European Commission has launched a new formal investigation against X under the Digital Services Act (DSA).

A spark of action from the European Commission on social media recommender algorithms at long last ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

Amid attacks from the right on “NGOs”, trust in Ireland’s charities has been declining Scandals in some charities have also harmed the reputation of the sector as a whole, which is unfair, people working for other nonprofits say.

Amid attacks from the right on “NGOs”, trust in Ireland’s charities has been declining. Scandals in some charities have also harmed the reputation of the sector as a whole, which is unfair, people working for other nonprofits say. More here: www.dublininquirer.com/amid-attacks...

Powers for Gardaí to spy on phones Olga Cronin, Surveillance and Human Rights Senior Policy Officer with The Irish Council of Civil Liberties (ICCL) and Christy Galligan, retired Garda Sergeant.

ICCL Senior Policy Officer, Olga Cronin, appeared on RTÉ today to discuss our very serious concerns with the Justice Minister's proposal to give Gardaí profoundly intrusive surveillance powers, which include the use of covert software to intercept digital communications ➡️ www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

Read our full letter ➡️ www.iccl.ie/wp-content/u...

4️⃣ An explicit ban of the practice of placing children in adult wards. In deference to the grave situations that may arise, a brief, time-bound emergency exception could be envisaged but only if coupled with a commitment to increase the number of beds and specialist staff available for children.

3️⃣ The removal of S.51 of the Bill, which sets out a legal pathway for overturning the stated wishes of a person who has capacity but does not consent to treatment, or has a bona fide decision-making representative or an advance healthcare directive; and

2️⃣ The criteria for involuntary detention to be reassessed. A new more restrictive version that is more directly connected to the apprehension of imminent, material harm is needed for Ireland to be in compliance with our UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) obligations;

We're calling for:

1️⃣ All mental health services users to have a legal right to independent advocacy, and access to a robust, transparent and independent pathway for complaints and redress;

ICCL writes to Seanad re: Mental Health Bill (2024) Committee Stage Debate ICCL has written to the Seanad ahead of today's debate on the Mental Health Bill 2024.

ICCL has written to the Seanad ahead of today's debate on the Mental Health Bill 2024. In partnership with Mental Health Reform, ICCL welcomes some of the proposed amendments -- but the Bill as currently drafted still fails to protect human rights in several key areas ➡️ www.iccl.ie/news/iccl-wr...

Fighting for Our Lives: Pathways to Abortion Rights Globally This event will take place online on Thursday, 22 January at 1:00pm UTC and have simultaneous English–Spanish interpretation.

Join for a panel discussion with experts from Argentina, Kenya and Ireland — including Ailbhe Smyth representing Together for Yes — as we also mark five years of legalised abortion in Argentina.

This event will have simultaneous English–Spanish interpretation.

➡️ us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

The publication examines how movements confront stigma, inequality, conscientious objection, harassment, and shrinking civic space — while continuing to expand access to abortion care in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Hungary, Ireland, Kenya, Russia, South Africa and the US.

Our colleagues at the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO) invite you to the launch of "Fighting for Our Lives: Pathways to Abortion Rights Globally".

📆 Thursday, 22 January
🕑 1:00 PM UTC
📍 Online

Register here ➡️ us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

This is also an opportunity for them to officially put their experiences of that day on the record. After five long years, George's family deserves to finally know the full truth of the circumstances that led to his death. We will continue to support them in their efforts.

#JusticeforGeorge

As the inquest into the death of George Nkencho gets underway this week, we stand in solidarity with his family as they continue their campaign for truth, accountability and justice.

www.thejournal.ie/george-nkenc...

*"Child pornography" is the legal term used in the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998 and is therefore used here, rather than the preferred term "child sexual abuse material".

We found that all four bodies have the investigatory powers necessary to tackle the creation and distribution of unlawful imagery by X's AI chatbot, Grok ➡️ www.iccl.ie/wp-content/u...

The new analysis, "Who has what powers when it comes to illegal content online?", concerns two types of illegal online content: "child pornography"* and non-consensual deepfake sexualised images.

An Garda Síochána, Coimisiún na Meán, the EU Commission and the Data Protection Commission all have investigatory powers to tackle illegal Grok imagery – ICCL and DRI ICCL and Digital Rights Ireland (DRI) have published a new analysis, "Who has what powers when it comes to illegal content online?"

Today, ICCL and @tjmcintyre.com published a new analysis of the investigatory powers of An Garda Síochána, Coimisiún na Meán, the EU Commission and the Data Protection Commission ➡️ www.iccl.ie/press-releas...

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties will no longer be posting on X. For updates on our work, you can find us on LinkedIn, Instagram or Bluesky. You can also sign up to our email list.

As of today, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties will no longer be posting or monitoring our account on X 👇

Ireland could prosecute Twitter/X for AI 'child porn' deepfakes The horrific child sex abuse material produced every day by Grok is already banned under Irish law. The real test is if we are ready to enforce that law against large tech companies

I write in today's @irishexaminer.bsky.social about the laws that are broken when online AI platforms facilitate the production of child sex abuse material. No new laws are needed. Companies (and their executives) are accountable as well as users.

www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

Things stepping up.

ICCL and Digital Rights Ireland have written to the Garda Commissioner calling for an urgent investigation of X.

ICCL and Digital Rights Ireland are calling on An Garda Siochana to investigate X under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1988, after its Grok AI chatbot generated non-consensual and sexualised deepfake images of children and women. Read more ➡️ www.iccl.ie/press-releas...

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