Ireland's media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán, has launched its first formal investigation under the statutory Online Safety Code, opening a probe into social media platform X over concerns regarding child safety and age verification.

The inquiry follows reviews conducted by the regulator's platform supervision team. The watchdog expressed specific concerns over the potential ineffective implementation of age assurance mechanisms on X, noting that systems relying solely on self-declaration by users do not satisfy the standards required under Ireland's Online Safety Code.

Under the regulatory framework, video-sharing platforms that permit users under the age of 16 while hosting adult content are required to maintain measures preventing minors from accessing videos depicting pornography or extreme violence. Coimisiún na Meán raised additional concerns that parental control tools provided on X may lack minimum functionality, are difficult for users to locate, and are not adequately presented to new accounts during sign-up.

Digital Services Commissioner John Evans stated that protecting children from online harm and empowering parents were central objectives when drafting the code. If found to be in breach of the Online Safety Code following the investigation, X could face financial penalties of up to €20 million or 10% of its relevant annual global turnover, whichever is greater.