EDMO Ireland’s research and analysis of recent Irish elections is a cornerstone of a new report from the Law Society’s Centre for Justice and Law Reform, Safeguarding Irish Election Integrity in the Era of Emerging Digital Threats. According to the report, Ireland needs informed citizens and trusted sources of information, not just regulation, to protect its elections from AI-generated content and online disinformation.
The report acknowledges a strong existing framework, but calls it a work in progress, pointing to trusted information, political advertising, trusted flagger systems, and the balance between election protection and freedom of expression as key issues. Crucially, it notes that regulatory measures only work if online platforms implement them meaningfully and consistently.
The Law Society of Ireland is clear that no single measure will be enough:
Long-term democratic resilience requires a combination of regulation, public education, institutional cooperation, media literacy, transparency, support for trusted sources of information, and effective cooperation between public authorities, civil society, academia, and online platforms. A multi-layered approach is therefore necessary to address the diverse and evolving nature of digital threats to elections.
Their recommendations include:
- A National Election Information Partnership Framework
- Strengthened Election Integrity Research and Monitoring Capacity
- A National Election Integrity Coordination Mechanism
- Stronger coordination between SIPO and digital regulators
- Coordination and expansion of existing media literacy initiatives
The report draws on EDMO Ireland’s analysis of recent Irish elections and the wider EDMO network’s work to strengthen and protect European election and civic integrity.
