An Irish citizen journalist has been acquitted by a district court of violating the country's online censorship law, known as Coco's Law, but not before the State had put him through two years of a legal ordeal.
The law does not define what "grossly offensive" means, and X, the platform on which the post that got Kirk Loco, 45, from Rathnew, Co Wicklow, in trouble with the authorities was published, and that funded his defense, said that "Vague laws like this invite abuse."
The post that got Loco in trouble was from June 21, 2024, and the police raid on his home and seizure of his devices happened even before the trial.
The case was a "trial by social media" prosecuting solicitor Rory Staines said, referring to the X post. But Loco's barrister, Laoise de Brún, said the case "could not be more political."
The post said that a drunken man from an asylum center in Newtownmountkennedy had exposed himself to a 14-year-old girl on a bus the previous day. This information came from a woman in a WhatsApp group, whose younger sister was on the bus.
The incident allegedly happened on a bus traveling from Dublin to Wicklow, and Loco shared the information on X.
The prosecution said that the man had not interacted with the 14-year-old in any way, and that calling him a pedophile was "grossly offensive."
However, the judge said that the man was "a poor historian" whose evidence was not credible, and that his contact with the woman had been "clearly unwelcome" and more than likely sexual.
"If we substituted 'sexual harassment' for 'paedophilia', I don't think any of us would be here," the judge said.
Loco was also found to have had no personal animosity towards the man – but the prosecution still maintained that it was grossly offensive and that Loco had intended to cause harm.
The law under which Loco was charged is Section 4 of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020, and carries a prison sentence of up to two years. The legislation was enacted in response to a campaign by Jackie Fox, whose daughter Nicole, known as Coco, took her own life in 2018 after being subjected to online bullying.
The way the law was used in Loco's case shows how it can be abused to prosecute people for speech that is also a matter of public concern.
Even though Loco was eventually acquitted, the process was the punishment: he told the court that the two years had been "hugely detrimental" to his and his wife's mental health, and that he had lost family and friends. And even as he was leaving the courtroom, Loco said, "I will, of course, be a lot more careful going forward."
The intent of the law was to criminalize the distribution of intimate images without consent and online harassment, but the government's own review published in 2024 said that almost 100 cases had been prosecuted under it by then.
Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) Simon Harris has said that Ireland will use its EU presidency to push for a policy of verified identity on social media.
Ireland’s media regulator has opened the first Digital Services Act (DSA) investigation into X, and the government has pressed on with a national “disinformation” strategy, despite 83 percent of those who responded to a public consultation opposing it.
As for Loco, he had X paying his legal bills, but the next person in his shoes may not be so lucky. And even though he was found not guilty, his case is likely to have a chilling effect on free speech, as he himself indicated when he said he would be "a lot more careful" in the future.
