Barry Whyte

So I'm hoping that maybe by 7, 8 o'clock this will be done.

And I know you mentioned turnout there, Pat, earlier.

According to the tally so far, with about three quarters of the boxes tallied, the turnout looks like it's only around 36% so far in Dublin Central.

So very, very low.

Hi Clare.

Yeah, so representatives from social media giants, Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, Google and Microsoft have been this morning, I suppose, trying to convince members of the Oireachtas Committee on Children and Equality that they are committed to ensuring children's safety online.

And at the beginning of today's committee, Fine Gael T.D.

Grace Boland

Ask what social media companies are doing to stop teenagers from accessing harmful content in particular.

And Dulta O'Briain from Meta, which owns the Facebook and Instagram platforms, explain what measures they've taken.

Yeah, again, Finne Gael, TD, Grace Boland asked this question straight out.

And later on during the committee, the representatives from Meta, TikTok, Snap, Google and Microsoft were pushed even further on this.

They were asked what they do to stop their platforms from being addictive.

Now, they all said that their platforms are not designed to be addictive.

However, I'm sure there's many people listening now who might raise an eyebrow at that.

I certainly did when I was watching the committee live.

I'm sure many parents...

would raise an eyebrow when they hear that social media platforms are saying that these, you know, the likes of TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook are not designed to be addictive.

But I think even adults like ourselves would sometimes find ourselves looking through our phone and the next thing you've an hour's passed by.

However, Richard Collard from TikTok, he says the restrictions in place in particular to stop teenagers from scrolling too long.