Irish Minister Patrick O'Donovan on X CSAM Responsibility Controversy

"Platforms aren't the culprits; the viewers are." A high-ranking Irish official has sparked a firestorm of criticism by claiming that X (formerly Twitter) isn't responsible for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) hosted on its servers. Patrick O'Donovan, Ireland's Culture Minister, framed the access to such illegal content as a matter of personal choice.

Patrick O'Donovan Claims X CSAM Access is a Personal Choice

Speaking at a conference in Dublin, O'Donovan defended the continued use of X by government officials. He argued that the platform shouldn't be held accountable for content generated on-demand or stored within its infrastructure. Instead, he placed the burden of responsibility squarely on the individual user, describing the viewing of illegal materials as a personal decision rather than a systemic failure of the platform.

A Contradictory Stance on Digital Regulation

This stance is particularly striking given O'Donovan's past political record. He previously advocated for banning web browsers to combat anonymous pornography. Critics argue that his current defense of X undermines global efforts like the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates that tech giants take proactive steps to eliminate illegal content from their systems.