Ireland Investigates X Over Child Safety Controls

Ireland's media regulator has launched a formal investigation into the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, concerning its compliance with child safety regulations, specifically regarding age assurance and parental controls. The inquiry, initiated by Coimisiún na Meán (CnaM), is the first of its kind under Ireland's statutory Online Safety Code and focuses on whether X effectively prevents minors from accessing age-inappropriate content. Regulators expressed concerns that X's implementation of age assurance mechanisms may be ineffective, particularly noting that age verification relying solely on self-declaration is insufficient. The probe will also scrutinize X's parental control systems, assessing whether they are effective, meet minimum requirements, are easily located, and are presented to users during the account signup process. These measures are mandated by the Online Safety Code for platforms that permit adult-only content, such as explicit material or extreme violence, while also allowing users under the age of 16.