Irish Council for Civil Liberties 🏳️‍🌈

Government told in advance Irish ferry passengers would have faces scanned arriving at Holyhead Minister for Justice says his department was advised in advance of facial recognition technology trial by UK immigration officers

“Irish citizens and residents are having their biometric data processed without them having done anything to raise suspicion ... simply for getting on a ferry.” - @olgacronin.bsky.social on live facial recognition scanning of thousands of travellers at Holyhead.

www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/20...

Yesterday, two Oireachtas committees discussed giving gardai the power to use AI to single us out from a crowd on CCTV based on our face, gait and body size.

ICCL’s @olgacronin.bsky.social sets out the concerns we have, the lack of detail and what “biometric analysis” means under the #AIAct.

Should We Ban Kids from Social Media — Or ID Everyone Else? | Newstalk A heated Cabinet row, a leaked digital strategy, and one big question: should Ireland limit acces...

I was on Newstalk Daily to discuss social media on trial and the leaked concepts of a plan for age restrictions here in Ireland. Great to also have @iccl.bsky.social's Olga Cronin giving helpful background on the shaky foundations this is likely being built on. www.newstalk.com/podcasts/new...

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Join the fight. Become an ICCL member or make a donation today to be part of this work ➡️ www.iccl.ie/support-iccl/

We find ourselves in a challenging moment for rights and liberties right now. But together we can create a fairer and more equal Ireland, where all our rights are guaranteed without exception, and where the State and powerful interests are held to account.

Yesterday evening was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with old friends and longstanding supporters of ICCL, and to hear from excellent speakers including Dr Andrew Forde, Daniel Holder, Director of @cajni.bsky.social, and @ailbhes.bsky.social.

We are deeply grateful to President Connolly for joining us, for delivering such a clear message of principled resistance and for reaffirming the role of ICCL.

You can read her full speech here: www.iccl.ie/news/speech-...

@president.ie

We were honoured to welcome Uachtarán na hÉireann, Catherine Connolly, to an event last night marking ICCL’s 50th anniversary. In her opening address, she reflected on the threats to democracy and human rights, and reaffirmed the enduring importance of rights, liberties and all who defend them.

Last night, President Connolly addressed the 50th anniversary of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties.

Read the President’s speech at president.ie/en/media-lib...

📸 Andrew Watchorn

One for the cybersecurity nerds: the pre-legislative report for the Irish National Cyber Security Bill 2024 is out, and recommends major changes to the draconian powers proposed for the National Cyber Security Centre. Featuring lots of input from @digitalrightsirl.bsky.social + @iccl.bsky.social.

In 2024, the DPC made an urgent High Court application under Section 134 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (the first time it exercised those powers) regarding the use of users’ posts to train Grok, the group of AI models developed by xAI. This is the kind of decisive action we need from the DPC.

We will be closely monitoring developments in this inquiry - particularly given that previous own-volition inquiries opened by the DPC have still not concluded (e.g. real-time bidding, GeoDirectory).

➡️ www.iccl.ie/wp-content/u...

➡️ www.iccl.ie/tag/real-tim...

This is welcome news and follows ICCL and @digitalrightsirl.bsky.social writing to the DPC on January 20, urging it to exercise its powers and take immediate action ➡️ www.iccl.ie/wp-content/u...

Data Protection Commission investigates X over ‘nudification’ of images via Grok Regulator said its investigation will focus on whether Elon Musk-owned company has breached GDPR rules

This morning, the @dpcireland.bsky.social announced that it has opened an own-volition inquiry into X Internet Unlimited Company (XIUC) concerning the Grok AI "nudification" scandal.

www.irishtimes.com/business/202...

Displace: The Battle for Dublin, Maspalomas and Samanta Nobody are all screening at DIFF later that same day — so swing by early and join us for what will be a fantastic event! 🍿

Get your tickets here ➡️ www.diff.ie/2026-program...

🎬 This event will bring together the directors behind Samanta Nobody, Gays Against Guns, Displace: The Battle for Dublin, and Maspalomas.

Moderated by journalist Aoife Barry, we'll consider how film and the arts can help raise awareness of human rights issues and inspire audiences to take action ✊

We’re delighted to invite you to Bringing Human Rights to Life on Screen: An ICCL panel discussion at Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF)!

🗓️ Sunday 22 February, 11am - 12pm
📍 Haymarket House, Smithfield, Dublin 7, D07CF98

🎟️Tickets cost €7 and are available here ➡️ www.diff.ie/programme/ic...

Have you, or someone you know, been arrested at a peaceful protest in Ireland?

@iccl.bsky.social 's survey seeking to gather information about the experiences of arrests at protest remains open:

lnkd.in/d9HpTSAz

#SpeirGorm

Digital wallet plan is a dangerous infringement on privacy Mandating the use of a State-run digital identity as a pre-condition for holding or using a social media account would represent a profound expansion of government control, write Olga Cronin and…

"Child safety is a real concern and a legitimate aim. But obliterating online #anonymity is a blunt, dangerous measure that will chill speech and sacrifice the privacy, free expression and security of everyone, with no proven benefit to children."

Read more ➡️ www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

"The problems for the Government, by building on a faulty and legally dubious system, are piling up and, in turn, the Government is risking our rights to privacy, data protection and security as it embarks on potentially creating a State surveillance infrastructure," Olga and Kris write.

The fact that the Minister for Communications, Patrick O'Donovan, announced plans for a digital wallet without any public debate is deeply concerning; and that concern is considerably heightened by the fact that his proposal is based on the existing MyGovID, which has no basis in Irish law.

From a technical perspective, implementing a privacy-respecting, mandatory digital age verification system is incredibly complex. From a rights perspective, it poses risks to our rights to #privacy, data protection, anonymity, access to information, free expression, non-discrimination and #security.

Digital wallet plan is a dangerous infringement on privacy Mandating the use of a State-run digital identity as a pre-condition for holding or using a social media account would represent a profound expansion of government control, write Olga Cronin and…

ICCL Surveillance and Human Rights Senior Policy Officer, Olga Cronin, and ICCL Enforce Senior Fellow, Dr Kris Shrishak, make the case against the government's digital wallet proposal for the Irish Examiner ⬇️ www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

Chatbots considered for providing legal counselling to people seeking asylum, documents suggest The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission doesn’t believe chatbots are suitable “in provision of legal counselling”, a spokesperson said.

I analysed the DoJ’s immigration chatbot for @iccl.bsky.social and the amount of seriously wrong information it gave was shocking even to me. The idea that people fleeing persecution would be expected to rely on a chatbot in lieu of actual legal advice is 😱😱😱

www.dublininquirer.com/chatbots-con...

This is a huge win for @iccl.bsky.social whose @johnnyryan.bsky.social has been arguing for recommender systems to face scrutiny for some time now.

Commission investigates Grok and X\'s recommender systems under the Digital Services Act The European Commission has launched a new formal investigation against X under the Digital Services Act (DSA).

A spark of action from the European Commission on social media recommender algorithms at long last ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

Amid attacks from the right on “NGOs”, trust in Ireland’s charities has been declining Scandals in some charities have also harmed the reputation of the sector as a whole, which is unfair, people working for other nonprofits say.

Amid attacks from the right on “NGOs”, trust in Ireland’s charities has been declining. Scandals in some charities have also harmed the reputation of the sector as a whole, which is unfair, people working for other nonprofits say. More here: www.dublininquirer.com/amid-attacks...

Powers for Gardaí to spy on phones Olga Cronin, Surveillance and Human Rights Senior Policy Officer with The Irish Council of Civil Liberties (ICCL) and Christy Galligan, retired Garda Sergeant.

ICCL Senior Policy Officer, Olga Cronin, appeared on RTÉ today to discuss our very serious concerns with the Justice Minister's proposal to give Gardaí profoundly intrusive surveillance powers, which include the use of covert software to intercept digital communications ➡️ www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

Read our full letter ➡️ www.iccl.ie/wp-content/u...

4️⃣ An explicit ban of the practice of placing children in adult wards. In deference to the grave situations that may arise, a brief, time-bound emergency exception could be envisaged but only if coupled with a commitment to increase the number of beds and specialist staff available for children.