Cork Reaction As Brussels Prepares Major Child Online Safety Announcement

Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris has said the European Commission will unveil significant new proposals on children's online safety this week, ahead of President Ursula von der Leyen's State of the Union address on Wednesday.

Posting on Instagram, Simon Harris, Tánaiste and Minister for Finance:

"Online safety for our children is the issue of our time."

Harris said he has been working on the issue in government and discussing it with EU colleagues, and that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will outline significant new proposals to improve online safety. He described it as a landmark moment, adding that the era of self-regulation is over, and said he would keep the public informed as developments unfold.

The State of the Union address takes place on Wednesday 16 September 2026, running from 09:00 to 11:50 CEST (08:00 to 10:50 Irish time), delivered before the European Parliament in Strasbourg and streamed live with interpretation in all 24 official EU languages.

The address follows more than a year of work by the Commission's Special Panel on child safety online, set up by President von der Leyen after her 2025 State of the Union address. The panel, made up of experts in health, neuroscience, psychology, computer science, child rights and digital literacy, met three times between March and June 2026 before publishing its final report on 13 July 2026.

That report found strong public appetite for EU-level action. A Eurobarometer survey published alongside it found that cyberbullying and harassment were the top concern for 71% of respondents, with fears of online grooming and sexual exploitation close behind at 70%. Nearly two thirds of those surveyed said they wanted EU rules restricting children's access to social media by age.

Marking the report's publication, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said the panel's work had informed the Commission's next steps, stating that "we need action at European level."

Ireland had direct input into the panel's work. Among the Irish participants were Alex Cooney, CEO of CyberSafeKids, Brian O'Neill, Emeritus Professor at TU Dublin, Louise Flynn of Trinity College Dublin, Declan Qualter of University College Dublin, and Aisling Maloney of the National Youth Council of Ireland, who sat on the President's Youth Advisory Board.

The Commission has said it intends to bring forward proposals building on the panel's recommendations, though the detail of any legislative text has not yet been published. Cork Safety Alerts will report further once official material is released.