4 ms·

So the actual context of this is a long-standing feud between Meta and our elected representatives (and some prominent media figures) regarding social engineeri

So the actual context of this is a long-standing feud between Meta and our elected representatives (and some prominent media figures) regarding social engineering scam ads. You've probably seen some variant of it - a 1:1 copy of a reputable newsoutlet - in this case The Irish Independent, The Irish Times, RTÉ or Newstalk - with a purported video from our Prime Minister or similar which leads to a crypto-trading or forex-trading sales funnel. Simon Harris, our previous Head of State, was inundated with variants of the same script: “In the nation’s best interests, we’ve carried out a full investigation to make sure it’s not a scam,” the AI-generated Harris appears to say in the scam ad shown on YouTube. “This is your chance to change your life. All it takes is one small step: invest €250 and start earning today,” the deepfaked figure tells a press conference. https://www.thejournal.ie/facetcheck-debunk-ai-scam-ad-deepfake-simon-harris-tainaiste-sharon-ni-bheolain-fintan-o-toole-youtube-6860505-Oct2025/ https://www.thejournal.ie/facetcheck-debunk-ai-scam-ad-deepf... https://www.newstalk.com/news/social-media-platforms-see-surge-in-scam-ads-depicting-simon-harris-2126500 https://www.newstalk.com/news/social-media-platforms-see-sur...

leoc 9mo ago
(Harris was our head of government (ie. PM or equivalent) rather than head of state (which would be the president).)
miohtama 9mo ago
The existing fraud and advertising laws cover these kind of scams. Because the bottleneck is enforcement, adding new laws won't make the world safer.
- piltdownman 9mo ago
  Except they don't - enforcement is circumvented by psuedo-anonymous users pushing illegal ad campaigns that revert back to inoffensive content or a similar cop-out by the time Meta/X responds to the report https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/despicable-simon-harris-issues-warning-to-elon-musk-as-scam-ads-using-the-taoiseachs-image-flood-x/a1260597459.html https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/despicable-simon-harri... https://www.reddit.com/r/irishpolitics/comments/1i1shz3/anyone_seeing_lots_of_these_on_their_youtube_feed/ https://www.reddit.com/r/irishpolitics/comments/1i1shz3/anyo...
  - collingreen 9mo ago
    Does this require a belief that it isn't reasonable for meta to control or even be aware of ad content they are paid to show?
  - Teever 9mo ago
    Sounds like a criminal conspiracy between the psuedo-anonymous users and Facebook.
- pjc50 9mo ago
  This is only going to change if prosecution is brought against Meta itself, which it looks like the "recklessly" clause is intended to imply. I look forward to Meta facing criminal charges for profiting from fraud. What's the Irish equivalent of Hansard, by the way? Can we look up the debate?
  - ChrisMarshallNY 9mo ago
    > facing criminal charges for profiting from fraud Amazon, too, but this seems to be "fraud that annoys pols," so I guess The Big A is going to be left alone...
  - dmurray 9mo ago
    There hasn't been a debate. The headline is not reflective of the facts. There hasn't been any agreement to fast track this bill, but the politician sponsoring it has said in a radio interview that (surprise!) he thinks it should be fast tracked. The Dáil record can be found here, but there's nothing of interest in it: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/search/?searchType=debates&debateType=dail&datePeriod=all&originalFilter=%2Fen%2Fdebates%2Ffind%2F%3FdatePeriod%3Dall%26debateType%3Ddail%26resultsPerPage%3D50&q=Protection+of+voice+and+image+Bill https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/search/?searchType=debates&deba...
    - amiga386 9mo ago
      Oh for fuck's sake. HN: "Ireland fast tracks Bill to criminalise harmful voice or image misuse" TFA: "Calls to fast track Bill to criminalise harmful misuse of someone’s voice or image" Call to action. Not action. And the call is coming from the bill's proposer! He would say that, wouldn't he? But what matters is if the actual government takes that bill further. If they don't, we don't need to care about what this guy thinks. HN headline (possibly an earlier headline of TFA) is fundamentally misrepresenting the situation.
      - wasabi991011 9mo ago
        You can email the mod team with this explanation and get them to change the title.
- nerdralph 9mo ago
  As a common-law legal system, I would expect Ireland to have something similar to Canada's Criminal Code identity fraud. 403 (1) Everyone commits an offence who fraudulently personates another person, living or dead, (a) with intent to gain advantage for themselves or another person; (b) with intent to obtain any property or an interest in any property; (c) with intent to cause disadvantage to the person being personated or another person; or (d) with intent to avoid arrest or prosecution or to obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice. Marginal note:Clarification (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), personating a person includes pretending to be the person or using the person’s identity information — whether by itself or in combination with identity information pertaining to any person — as if it pertains to the person using it. Marginal note:Punishment (3) Everyone who commits an offence under subsection (1) (a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years; or (b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

leoc 9mo ago

(Harris was our head of government (ie. PM or equivalent) rather than head of state (which would be the president).)

miohtama 9mo ago

The existing fraud and advertising laws cover these kind of scams. Because the bottleneck is enforcement, adding new laws won't make the world safer.

piltdownman 9mo ago
Except they don't - enforcement is circumvented by psuedo-anonymous users pushing illegal ad campaigns that revert back to inoffensive content or a similar cop-out by the time Meta/X responds to the report https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/despicable-simon-harris-issues-warning-to-elon-musk-as-scam-ads-using-the-taoiseachs-image-flood-x/a1260597459.html https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/despicable-simon-harri... https://www.reddit.com/r/irishpolitics/comments/1i1shz3/anyone_seeing_lots_of_these_on_their_youtube_feed/ https://www.reddit.com/r/irishpolitics/comments/1i1shz3/anyo...
- collingreen 9mo ago
  Does this require a belief that it isn't reasonable for meta to control or even be aware of ad content they are paid to show?
- Teever 9mo ago
  Sounds like a criminal conspiracy between the psuedo-anonymous users and Facebook.
pjc50 9mo ago
This is only going to change if prosecution is brought against Meta itself, which it looks like the "recklessly" clause is intended to imply. I look forward to Meta facing criminal charges for profiting from fraud. What's the Irish equivalent of Hansard, by the way? Can we look up the debate?
- ChrisMarshallNY 9mo ago
  > facing criminal charges for profiting from fraud Amazon, too, but this seems to be "fraud that annoys pols," so I guess The Big A is going to be left alone...
- dmurray 9mo ago
  There hasn't been a debate. The headline is not reflective of the facts. There hasn't been any agreement to fast track this bill, but the politician sponsoring it has said in a radio interview that (surprise!) he thinks it should be fast tracked. The Dáil record can be found here, but there's nothing of interest in it: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/search/?searchType=debates&debateType=dail&datePeriod=all&originalFilter=%2Fen%2Fdebates%2Ffind%2F%3FdatePeriod%3Dall%26debateType%3Ddail%26resultsPerPage%3D50&q=Protection+of+voice+and+image+Bill https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/search/?searchType=debates&deba...
  - amiga386 9mo ago
    Oh for fuck's sake. HN: "Ireland fast tracks Bill to criminalise harmful voice or image misuse" TFA: "Calls to fast track Bill to criminalise harmful misuse of someone’s voice or image" Call to action. Not action. And the call is coming from the bill's proposer! He would say that, wouldn't he? But what matters is if the actual government takes that bill further. If they don't, we don't need to care about what this guy thinks. HN headline (possibly an earlier headline of TFA) is fundamentally misrepresenting the situation.
    - wasabi991011 9mo ago
      You can email the mod team with this explanation and get them to change the title.
nerdralph 9mo ago
As a common-law legal system, I would expect Ireland to have something similar to Canada's Criminal Code identity fraud. 403 (1) Everyone commits an offence who fraudulently personates another person, living or dead, (a) with intent to gain advantage for themselves or another person; (b) with intent to obtain any property or an interest in any property; (c) with intent to cause disadvantage to the person being personated or another person; or (d) with intent to avoid arrest or prosecution or to obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice. Marginal note:Clarification (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), personating a person includes pretending to be the person or using the person’s identity information — whether by itself or in combination with identity information pertaining to any person — as if it pertains to the person using it. Marginal note:Punishment (3) Everyone who commits an offence under subsection (1) (a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years; or (b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.