An Irish parliamentary committee has published a report calling for sweeping new legislation to regulate Artificial Intelligence, with a strong focus on controlling online “hate” and “misinformation.”
The First Interim Report of the Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence argues that AI-driven recommender systems play a central role in amplifying harmful and hateful content and should be explicitly addressed in both EU and national law. The committee cited evidence from two government-funded left-wing NGOs that campaign on “anti-racism” and LGBT issues respectively, the Irish Traveller Movement and BeLonG To, which warned that AI systems can reinforce “discriminatory stereotypes” and disproportionately harm minority and vulnerable groups.
It is worth noting that the Irish Traveller Movement, heavily funded by the Irish government, runs a programme that teaches children in schools across the country about ‘white privilege.’
The report urges lawmakers to impose clear obligations on platform owners to prevent AI-powered misinformation campaigns aimed at “destabilising society.” It also recommends that recommender systems be designed to promote evidence-based and “balanced” viewpoints, switched off by default for most users, and banned entirely on accounts used by children.
On regulation, the committee warns Ireland not to weaken the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act, describing it as a minimum standard rather than a ceiling. It challenges the idea that regulation and innovation are incompatible, arguing that robust oversight is essential for trustworthy technological development.
Beyond content moderation, the report also calls on the state to reduce its reliance on private tech companies by investing in publicly owned AI resources. The government will now review the recommendations, including the proposal to establish a national AI Office by August 2026.
