Reddit says it is not covered by new Online Safety Code as it has moved its jurisdiction to the Netherlands
Reddit has told the Irish media regulator that it is not covered by the new Online Safety Code as its jurisdiction is in the Netherlands.
On September 16, the social-media platform updated its user agreement for Europeans “to reflect that the Reddit products and services are provided by Reddit Netherlands BV”. The American company said this would take effect immediately.
Because this “question of jurisdiction” has arisen, the regulator Coimisiún na Meán has confirmed that the Online Safety Code will not apply to Reddit, at least initially. “We are engaging further with Reddit as regards the jurisdiction,” said Niamh Hodnett, the online safety commissioner.
The platform was already taking a legal challenge against the regulator’s decision to officially designate it as a video-sharing platform to which the code would apply. It has been given leave to take its case to the Court of Appeal, after failing in a challenge to the High Court.
Reddit challenged its designation on the basis that it is mostly a text-based discussion platform, and links to videos uploaded elsewhere on the internet should not be factored in. The Irish regulator counter-argued that the audio-visual content on the platform is extensive, and pointed to its enormous reach, with 73 million daily users.
