Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has confirmed that he spoke to the schoolboy who was assaulted in Navan over a video call.
Gardai investigating a vicious attack on a 14-year-old schoolboy made a number of arrests this Friday morning.
The young boy was subjected to a horrific assault in Navan, Co Meath, on Monday, with the incident filmed and widely shared on social media.
READ MORE: Gardai make arrests after Navan schoolboy viciously assaulted
Speaking in Tipperary, the Taoiseach said that he was “glad to hear that arrests have happened” but he did not want to comment further as a Garda investigation is ongoing.
The Fine Gael leader said on Thursday that he intended to reach out to the schoolboy and confirmed that this call had taken place.
“[I] also had a chance to speak with the young man and his mother over a video call yesterday just to express my solidarity and support,” Mr Varadkar said.
“They were happy that the gardai had engaged with them, and the school too.”
Mr Varadkar also once again called for the video of the incident not to be shared.
He said that a new Online Safety Commissioner and a media commission – Coimisiún na Meán – are being set up to regulate social media and online media.
He said that while it is “getting up and running” it will have the power to compel social media companies to remove content from their websites. It will also impose fines.
The Taoiseach continued: “I had a chance to have some engagement with one of the companies yesterday. Google, for example, said to me that they were doing everything to take it down off of YouTube, which they've done.
“[It is] hard to find on Facebook and, I believe, on TikTok as well.
“Twitter, as often is the case, is not living up to its obligations, in my view, in terms of its own community standards, and not for the first time.
“I think we should be willing to distinguish between companies that do make an effort to apply their own standards and those that are failing in applying their own standards. To me, that includes Twitter.”
Mr Varadkar also said that the public has to look at its own actions and that while they may be sharing the video as a sign of “solidarity with the young man who was attacked”, the content should not be shared.
He also said that the “traditional media” has a role in not “signposting and signalling” content.
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