Ireland’s Minister of State Robert Troy said that the government did not attempt to hide a meeting with tech giants about the country’s position on the newly proposed EU laws that would affect online platforms.
In early September, Troy met with representatives from Google, Facebook, Amazon and other companies to discuss Ireland’s position on the European Commission’s newly proposed Digital Services Act, which would require tech companies to create a “safe internet,” and Digital Markets Act, which focuses on Big Tech’s anti-competitive practices.
On Sunday, the Business Post reported that during the meeting no detailed notes were taken by the IDA for the tech companies.
The outlet claims the lack of detailed notes was to avoid the details of the meeting being revealed through freedom of information requests.
In a statement to the Westmeath Examiner, Minister Troy said that the suggestion that the government was hiding the details of the meeting was “inaccurate” and “unfair.”
“We did publish the fact that this meeting was taking place. We were not trying to hide this meeting, it was published as a matter of record.”
He added that a similar meeting would be held with members of the civil society to discuss the government’s position on the proposed laws, and that “is a matter of public record.”
