DIACOMET podcast with regulator representative Maria Donde: “We need to recognise the moment as one of opportunity”

In this episode of the DIACOMET podcast, we sat down with Maria Donde, the International Affairs Director at Coimisiún na Meán, the media and online safety regulator in Ireland.

Our discussion focused on the profound transformation of the media environment over the past two decades and on the challenges this rapid change poses for regulation today. “When I started working at the Advertising Standards Authority, we were receiving complaints from the public by letter, handwritten and through the post. Some rare individuals would come to us by email. The last twenty years have seen a huge, seismic, indescribably large change in the media environment in general and in the way people communicate more broadly,” our guest described.

Our conversation explored the main issues facing regulators today, from balancing the protection of the public interest with freedom of expression, addressing the algorithmic curation of content on social media, to responding to the changes brought by generative AI, and tackling the risks that platform design can pose to children. We also discussed how regulators are reacting to this fast-moving environment, where they are succeeding, where they are still struggling to catch up, and what kinds of responses appear to be most effective.

We invite you to listen to the episode on SoundCloud and YouTube.