I’m at Web Summit in Portugal all this week (here’s a tweet I did from the opening), which feels like walking around inside Linkedin. Everyone is manically excited about [various things] and there are robots. And I think I’ve figured out what it’s all about: Web Summit (they don’t use a definite article for some reason) is a meetup for people who have good ideas for new tech companies, and other people who have money who want to invest in the technology so both sides can get fantastically rich.
I’m obviously not part of that crew. But I am a “content creator”, in the lingo, as well as a “platform user”. And I’m interested in the regulators who get in between the spergs making cool apps and users like me, because regulators set the limits about what platforms can and cannot do (or more specifically, how they can operate in the market). That extends to what can and cannot be said online, because those apps/technologies are the medium with which we say things that have reach.
A couple of weeks ago, Sarah O’Reilly, who leads Free Speech Ireland and just founded the Digital Justice Institute (of which she invited me to join the board), led me by the hand through the details of the various legislative efforts to gatekeep online discourse.
The “compliance” rules she describes are not just a nightmare for those of us who want to say untoward things online, it’s also a nightmare for the tech companies who own any kind of public-facing platform and don’t want to drown in rules, because that interferes in their ability to make money. It also influences how developers design their new products (and their incentive to do so, obviously).
The big kahuna of EU platform regulation is the Digital Services Act (DSA), which was the main topic of my conversation with Sarah. There are plenty of good things about the DSA, but alongside the good there are a few provisions that risk making it an illiberal censorship nightmare (Sarah calls it “repugnant”).
The EU Commission and their allies are quick to remind everyone that the DSA doesn’t directly criminalise (or call for the criminalisation) of speech. It doesn’t even define hate speech. It does something far more insidious. You can hear all about it in the interview. If you find details of EU legislation boring, you might want to skip this one. But even if it’s heavy on the acronyms and bureaucracy, it’s important, and it matters outside the EU too. And having just attended an incredibly tense session on the DSA this morning, I’m quite shocked at the appetite for it. Do these dorks know what they’re cheering for???
As I was writing this post, the Alliance Defending Freedom (right-wing/tradcaths) reported that the Commission has dropped its plan for a treaty change that would make hate an EU-level (crime) (yawn, I know) but will instead move ahead with a directive (double-yawn, yes, but it matters).
Sarah explains some basics of free speech, civil versus common law, and all kinds of interesting tidbits. A fine woman.
I’ll be writing a debrief about this session for Free Speech Ireland/the Digital Justice Institute (who comped me the ticket). Stay tuned.
Show notes (AI generated)
Episode Overview
In this episode of Peaked, Róisín Michaux speaks with Sarah O’Reilly, a free-speech advocate and the founding CEO of the Digital Justice Institute, about the European Union’s expanding regulatory framework for online platforms and its implications for freedom of expression, privacy, anonymity and public debate.
Sarah discusses her involvement with Free Speech Ireland and its campaign against Ireland’s proposed Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill. The conversation examines the relationship between EU legislation and national law, including the EU’s framework for combating racism and xenophobia and the eventual passage of Ireland’s Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Act 2024.
The discussion then turns to the Digital Services Act (DSA), trusted flaggers, codes of conduct on disinformation and illegal hate speech, and the role of national Digital Services Coordinators. Sarah raises concerns about how definitions of misinformation, disinformation and harmful information could affect online expression. Róisín also discusses EU-supported fact-checking initiatives, funding transparency and a dispute over how an EU parliamentary resolution was characterised.
The conversation examines specific cases and incidents, including a viral video falsely described as showing a child kidnapping in Dublin, the prosecution of Sandra Barry over threatening messages sent to Simon Harris, the UK case involving rap lyrics posted by Chelsea Russell, and Finnish proceedings involving politician Päivi Räsänen. These examples lead into a broader discussion about the boundaries between offensive expression, harmful communications and criminal conduct.
Later, they examine Coco’s Law, proposed EU-wide rules for children’s access to social media, age-verification systems and the implications of identity verification for anonymous accounts, whistleblowers, journalists and people expressing unpopular opinions. The speakers also discuss France’s restrictions on minors’ access to social media and the constitutional challenge to its under-15 prohibition.
The episode concludes with a discussion of the EU’s legislative powers, proposals to extend the list of EU crimes to include hate speech and hate crime, and the possibility of using existing computer-crime powers to address certain forms of online expression. Sarah explains the purpose of the Digital Justice Institute and its plans to research digital regulation and engage with businesses, individuals and policymakers.
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Sarah O’Reilly
Sarah O’Reilly is a free-speech advocate with a background in law and financial services. She is the founding CEO of the Digital Justice Institute and has been involved with Free Speech Ireland’s campaign against Ireland’s proposed hate-speech legislation.
In the episode, Sarah draws on her legal background and campaigning experience to discuss the development of digital regulation in Europe, the relationship between national and EU law, and the challenges of protecting freedom of expression while addressing genuine online harms.
Digital Justice Institute — Sarah O’Reilly’s Profile
https://digitaljusticeinstitute.com/about-us/
Free Speech Ireland
https://freespeechireland.ie/
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Free Speech Ireland & the Irish Hate Speech Bill
Free Speech Ireland — “Bin the Bill” Campaign
https://freespeechireland.ie/press-release-bin-the-bill-campaign-launched/
Council Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA — Racism and Xenophobia
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32008F0913
Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989
https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1989/act/19/enacted/en/html
Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Act 2024
https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2024/act/41/enacted/en/html
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The Digital Services Act, Trusted Flaggers & Platform Regulation
Digital Services Act — Official EU Regulation
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2065/oj
European Commission — Trusted Flaggers Under the DSA
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/trusted-flaggers-under-dsa
Ireland’s Digital Services Coordinator — Coimisiún na Meán
https://www.cnam.ie/
European Commission — Codes of Conduct Under the DSA
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/dsa-codes-conduct
European Commission — Temu Fined €200 Million Under the DSA
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Misinformation, Disinformation & Fact-Checking
PolitiFact — Charlie Kirk’s Assassination, One Year Later: How Conspiracy Theories Have Evolved
https://www.politifact.com/article/2026/sep/08/charlie-kirk-assassination-misinformation-tpusa/
EU-Funded Fact-Checking & The Journal
The Journal FactCheck — Funding & Methodology
https://www.thejournal.ie/the-journal-factcheck/
EDMO Ireland — European Digital Media Observatory
https://edmohub.ie/index.php/about/
Germany’s Gender-Marker Disclosure Law
Germany — Act on Self-Determination With Regard to Gender Markers, Section 13
https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_sbgg/englisch_sbgg.html
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Chelsea Russell & the Snap Dogg Lyrics Case
Police Professional — Instagram Rap Tribute to Dead Boy Lands UK Teenager in Court
Lucy Connolly & Online Speech Following the Southport Attacks
Crown Prosecution Service — Lucy Connolly Case
Päivi Räsänen & the Finnish Supreme Court
Supreme Court of Finland — Päivi Räsänen and Her Internet Publisher
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Coco’s Law & the Simon Harris Case
Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 — Full Legislation
https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2020/act/32/enacted/en/html
Section 4 — Threatening or Grossly Offensive Communications
https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2020/act/32/section/4
RTÉ — Woman Jailed for Six Months Over Online Threats to Tánaiste Simon Harris
https://www.rte.ie/news/courts/2025/1218/1549696-courts-threats/
A Viral Dublin Video & False Kidnapping Claims
TheJournal.ie FactCheck — No Evidence a Viral Video Shows a Kidnapping in East Wall, Dublin
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Child Protection, Age Verification & Online Anonymity
The EU KIDS Act
European Commission — Proposal for the EU KIDS Act
EU KIDS Act — Official Legislative Proposal
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:52026PC0681
France’s Under-15 Social-Media Restrictions
French Constitutional Council — Decision No. 2026-911 DC, 14 August 2026
https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/cons/id/CONSTEXT000054952977
French Senate — Legislative Record on Protecting Minors from Social-Media Risks
https://www.senat.fr/dossier-legislatif/ppl25-304.html
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EU Treaty Powers & the Proposed Extension of EU Crimes
European Commission — COM(2021) 777: Extending the List of EU Crimes to Hate Speech and Hate Crime
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:52021DC0777
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union — Article 83
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:12016E083
Treaty on European Union — Article 48: Treaty Revision Procedure
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:12016M048
Directive 2013/40/EU — Attacks Against Information Systems
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32013L0040
The EU Parenthood Regulation
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52022PC0695
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Guest Links
Sarah O’Reilly — X
Digital Justice Institute
https://digitaljusticeinstitute.com/
Free Speech Ireland
https://freespeechireland.ie/
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Host
Róisín Michaux — X
Substack
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