Sir, – TikTok’s announcement that it was declining an invitation to attend the Oireachtas committee is a further indictment of the almost non-existent state of social media regulation (“‘A slap in the face to the Irish public’: TikTok rejects Oireachtas invite after M9 crash,” August 20th).Broadcasting and cinema technology has existed for more than 100 years and over that time it has been recognised that there needed to be legal restrictions on what could be shown as the broadcasters could not be trusted to put public safety over financial gain. The regulation of traditional media has given us watersheds, age-rating of content as well as threats of defamation suits made against the broadcaster. It also came with significant legal sanction and transparent mechanisms of lodging complaints. Unlike traditional media, the regulations regarding social media are largely retrospective rather than prospective. Harmful, dangerous and inappropriate content is reported to the platform, which then may or may not remove it. This ignores the reality that once something has been uploaded it’s already been seen hundreds if not thousands of times as well as having been copied and reuploaded.Surely the events of the last week have shown that what is needed is now to treat social media platforms like traditional broadcasters?All content needs to meet criteria at the time of being available to view. The platforms themselves need to be treated as the publishers of the content that they monetise. Before content is available to view by the public it needs to meet statutory criteria, as once seen it often cannot be forgotten.Currently Coimisiún na Meán’s advice to young people (in its public awareness campaign) is: “If it’s harmful in real life, it’s harmful online. Report harmful content to the platform where you see it.” Thus we have the bizarre situation of a state regulator not only allowing children to be exposed to content that would be illegal in a cinema but then also using them as free content-moderators for the companies that exposed them to the trauma. To add insult to injury the child is encouraged to report the breach of statutory guidelines not to law enforcement or the regulator but to the company itself.At the same time that these horrendously preventable tragedies occurred here, the state of New Mexico successfully fined Meta almost $1 billion for “knowingly endangering children” and being a “public nuisance”. The court has imposed tangible safety restrictions not on content but on the function of the platform. In addition, 29 states have commenced a similar action while there are other states (Tennessee and Massachusetts) who are taking individual cases. At least somewhere there are regulators not afraid to challenge corporate business models. – Yours, etc,PROF MATTHEW SADLIER,UCD School of Medicine,Dublin.Sir, – While a multilevel approach is needed to deal with the awful recent events, news that a leading social media company refuses to engage with the State in finding a resolution is concerning.If voluntary engagement fails, legislation could be enacted without the company’s input. Such legislation could be relatively simple: any public platform depicting illegal acts should be subject to significant fines, with penalties proportionate to the seriousness of the offence. For example, a €1 million fine could apply to content showing someone driving the wrong way on a motorway, with additional penalties based on the number of views and likes that the content receives.It is well past time for Ireland, as the European regulator of social media, to show some teeth. The present moment may also be an opportune one, given that a multibillion dollar legal case has recently been brought against social media giants in the United States, reflecting, in part, that country’s historic approach to tackling and regulating monopoly power. – Yours, etc,DAVID CASSIDY,Griffith Avenue,Dublin 9.