‘It can destroy people's lives' – Sinn Féin's Nicole Ryan demands catfishing law reform
Corkman
'Catfishing is is calculated, predatory and it can destroy people's lives,' stated Senator Nicole Ryan who said that vulnerable people are being scammed out of thousands of euros and individuals have been left traumatised
Catfishing occurs when an individual assumes a false identity online, often using stolen images or personal details, to deceive others into forming relationships, whether online or in person.
Victims of catfishing can fall into two categories; those who are deceived into thinking they are in a relationship with a non-existent person, and secondly, individuals whose images and personal details are stolen to create fake online identities.
Sinn Féin Senator Nicole Ryan said catfishing at its core is deception. 'Catfishing is when someone steals another person's images or identity to create a fake persona online often to trick, exploit or defraud others. While it began with a messaging or a dating app profile it frequently escalates to financial fraud and emotional manipulation. In some cases even coercive control.'
'This isn't harmless online behaviour,' said Ms Ryan. 'It is calculated, predatory and it can destroy peoples lives. We've seen headlines from high profile GAA players that have been impersonated, vulnerable people being scammed out of thousands of euros and individuals left traumatised after discovering a relationship that they believed was real actually never existed. But behind each headline is a human and some betrayed, humiliated and left sometimes to pick up the pieces.'
The Cork politician appealed for standalone legislation to be enacted which would give more power to An Garda Síochána and the court system to tackle catfishing. 'There is already current legislation that covers some of these aspects through harassment laws, fraud legislation and Coco's Law. While these laws are welcome we can't ignore the fact that catfishing is a distinct and emerging form of harm. It doesn't just fit neatly into the current legislation that we have of victims who are sometimes left without the clear path to justice.
'We believe that there is a strong case here to have this as a standalone offence that sends a clear message that online deception is not just morally wrong, but also legally wrong. It would give An Garda Síochána and the courts the clarity that they need when investigating and prosecuting these offences and it would give victims that they do deserve,' she added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
5 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Sarah Harte: The Government has bottled it on gambling — our young people will pay
Technology has supercharged the gambling problem. You no longer have to enter a seedy bookie's. You can gamble 24/7 and discreetly do so on your dopamine-delivering phone, with no visible signs. Maybe you're of the mindset that thinks human vices should be legal, but there is an issue around targeting minors who are not fully capable of making decisions. As the Tabor Addiction Group said: 'Young people are particularly vulnerable, with gambling addiction affecting them at two to three times the rate of adults.' They are also subjected to the rapid expansion of increasingly sophisticated gambling opportunities. Last Friday, legendary hurler Davy Fitzgerald's son Colm Fitzgerald received a 12-month suspended sentence for stealing money from his former employer, the Bank of Ireland, to feed his serious gambling habit. Colm Fitzgerald 'expressed relief' when his theft was discovered. He did all he could to cooperate with An Garda Síochána, repaid the money with the help of his family, and has sought treatment, speaking of suffering shame and remorse. At 28, he's just starting out. Addiction is a disease and not a choice. The very best of luck to him in building a new life. Colm Fitzgerald, 27, outside Ennis Circuit Criminal Court, where he received a suspended 12-month sentence after he pleaded guilty to theft of 35,000 from Bank of Ireland. Picture: Brendan Gleeson I mention his painful experience only because how he started to gamble is not uncommon. For many young people, recreational sports betting will have been a gateway to problem gambling. Squads of young men I know in their 20 now engage in sports gambling. Most of them start gambling in their teens and played sports themselves. Sports gambling has become such a big part of sports culture because the gambling industry has worked hard to establish a connection between sporting events and sports betting, while also encouraging cultural acceptance of gambling. It's not spoken about much, but it's there, humming along in the background of young lives, with, I suspect, many parents relatively clueless as to the extent of it. To this cohort of middle-class young men, gambling has become entirely normalised. For many young people, recreational sports betting will have been a gateway to problem gambling. Stuck in a cycle of online betting as they age, it will become apparent whether their gambling is mild, moderate or severe, with potentially negative repercussions on their finances, wellbeing and relationships. For some, they will chase their losses and dig themselves into a deeper hole until the problem becomes too big to hide. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) estimates one in 30 Irish adults has a gambling problem. This figure is likely to be conservative. A report released this year indicates we have one of the highest rates of gamblers per capita in the world. Evidence shows children are twice as likely to become problem gamblers later in life if they start betting before the age of 18, which, as chief executive of the new Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland Anne Marie Caulfield, says, justifies 'clamping down very hard'. So, how hard has the Government clamped down on gambling? Housing minister James Browne, then minister of state with responsibility for the legislation, said he experienced 'endless' lobbying from the gambling industry, hardly a surprise given it is worth somewhere between €6bn and €8bn. Intensive lobbying came from the Irish Bookmakers' Association, which represents betting shops and online operators like Paddy Power, Ladbrokes, and Boylesports. While it's a positive to have a dedicated authority to streamline the regulation and licensing of gambling, which has been piecemeal until now, this legislation has been in the pipeline for 11 years, since a Fine Gael-Labour government first proposed new gambling laws. It certainly hasn't been rushed through. As of March, the new Gambling Regulation Act 2024 came into effect, establishing this new gambling watchdog. However, most of the provisions of the act, although signed into law, have not yet commenced. Consequently, it's business as usual for most gambling companies in Ireland, which are not currently required to follow the new laws. It is hoped that these new rules, which prohibit online gambling advertisements on certain social media services unless the person has an account with the platform concerned, will have an effect. This is designed in part to protect underage people who have been targeted with advertisements on social media. Two glaring holes remain in the act, which suggest the gambling industry successfully forced the government to capitulate. File picture: iStock However, two glaring holes remain in the act, which suggest the gambling industry successfully forced the government to capitulate. First, the proposed watershed restriction on gambling advertisements between 5.30am and 9pm does not go far enough. How many teenagers and young people do you know who go to bed by 9pm? Part of the normalisation of gambling is advertisements are widespread. A blanket ban on ads should be considered, as was introduced with tobacco products. Secondly, there is no outright ban on free bets, as was initially envisaged in an early version of the bill. Free bets are a popular promotional tool, offering bettors a 'free bet' to encourage them to sign up to a site or service, or to reward existing gamblers for their repeated use of an online sportsbook, thereby encouraging continued use. Mr Browne said he could not accept a complete ban on free betting inducements and bonuses. This watering down of the legislation was a missed opportunity. As I was researching this article, an ad immediately popped up offering me exclusive offers for 50 free spins from a casino. Other ads followed this, all offering me "bonuses". As Senator Lynn Ruane pointed out in the Seanad when her amendment to the then bill failed: 'These types of inducements are an entry point into gambling for young people." The gambling industry's pushback was that any business needs to seek out and attract new customers proactively. But why shouldn't we approach betting companies in the way we dealt with the tobacco industry? This is what Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who introduced the highly successful workplace smoking ban as minister for health, proposed back in 2022 when he spoke about taking the same approach to gambling, including 'across the full gamut of advertising regulation'. We don't allow tobacco companies to advertise, and we don't let them offer coupons or deals on cigarettes, so what is the logic behind allowing gambling ads, inducements and promotions that encourage gambling? A national self-exclusion register will prohibit gambling operators from accepting bets from gamblers who have self-excluded from online services, yet this places the onus on the individual gambler to stop rather than on the operator. Such is the scale of the problem that banks, such as AIB, Bank of Ireland, EBS, and Revolut, are offering voluntary self-exclusion tools that block access to online casinos, slot machines, and lottery websites. Once again, the responsibility lies with the individual to act. When Bank of Ireland introduced its voluntary block last month, figures revealed men placed 71% of bets in the first quarter of 2025. Ninety per cent of gambling transactions took place online, and there was a 19% increase in gambling among 18- to 25-year-olds in the same quarter. When you have an industry as lucrative as the gambling industry, which generates significant revenue and employment, compromises will inevitably be made. But while the new legislation is being heralded as introducing a new era for the regulation of Irish gambling, it does not reflect the principles the government originally set out. Ultimately, the government bottled it, allowing gambling companies to influence our public health policy and thousands of people, many of them too young to understand what they are getting into, will pay a high price.
Irish Times
11 hours ago
- Irish Times
Man arrested and charged after garda assaulted on board plane at Dublin Airport
A man has been arrested and charged after 'viciously' assaulting a garda on board a plane at Dublin Airport on Tuesday morning. The man, aged in his 40s, was on board a transatlantic United Airlines flight travelling from Newark, New Jersey, to Dublin. The captain and crew of the flight reported the man being disruptive and requested the assistance of gardaí, who subsequently boarded and attempted to engage with him. A Garda spokesperson said the man proceeded to 'viciously assault a member of An Garda Síochána'. READ MORE Pepper spray was deployed during the incident, according to the Garda. The passenger subsequently fled the aircraft and was arrested a short time later. He has since been charged with assault and offences under the Air Navigation and Transport Act 2022 and is due before Dublin District Court on Tuesday evening. 'The Garda member who was injured during this incident is being treated at Beaumont Hospital for non-life threatening injuries,' the spokesperson said.
Irish Times
12 hours ago
- Irish Times
Man pleads guilty to headbutting father over ‘a football at local school'
A Co Clare man has admitted assault after headbutting a father at a GAA ground. Judge Alec Gabbett told Killaloe District Court that Maurice Crotty (43) 'sees red and takes off – that is the problem'. He said the background to the assault at Smith O'Brien's GAA club by Crotty on Aidan Fleming was 'over an issue over a football at the local school and an email exchange'. Tara Godfrey, defending, said 'there was also tensions over a WhatsApp group and contributions made'. READ MORE Crotty admitted assaulting Mr Fleming on May 29th last year in Killaloe, east Clare. The judge said he was minded to impose a three-month prison term on Crotty 'and whether I suspend that is the question'. However, Ms Godfrey successfully applied for the case to be adjourned for Crotty to be under the direction of the probation service and complete whatever courses it deemed suitable, including anger management. 'This was a once-in-a-lifetime act of aggression and there has been no incident since,' she told the court, sitting in Ennis, on Tuesday. When the case was first before the court last month, the judge was told Mr Fleming was a GAA coach. After reading his victim impact statement, the judge said the man was not a GAA coach 'and he says that himself here'. Judge Gabbett said on the day of the assault, Crotty went to Mr Fleming's house, but was told Mr Fleming was at the local GAA grounds. The judge said Crotty went to the pitch, called out Mr Fleming and then headbutted him. Mr Fleming, in his victim impact statement, said he had never met Crotty before. He suffered reputational damage when he was assaulted in front of parents and children, he said. In the statement, he said having to explain an unprovoked assault to children was something he never thought he would have to do. Judge Gabbett said the assault had left Mr Fleming with emotional scars. 'This was not a slap. It is a headbutt and is at the higher end of a section two assault charge,' he said, referring to the offence of assault under section two of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997. The judge said his difficulty in the case was that the probation report found Crotty was at moderate risk of reoffending. He said the report stated Crotty downplayed the fact the assault occurred in front of small children at a training session. In response, Ms Godfrey said the assault 'didn't occur in front of small children anywhere'. She said there was a narrative to the assault 'and this was not a situation where Mr Crotty picked out a random person and decided to visit an assault on him'. She said it was her client's case that Mr Fleming had, in an email to a school principal, defamed someone close to Crotty when incorrectly claiming the person had stolen a football. Ms Godfrey said Crotty was ashamed of his actions and had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. She said he worked in security and if there was a conviction then he would lose his job. She said he was the sole breadwinner and it would be a devastating blow to his family. Ms Godfrey said her client would be disproportionately punished if he was criminalised. Judge Gabbett said he was conscious of Mr Fleming's victim impact statement and he adjourned the case to December 2nd to allow Crotty, of Millstream, Killaloe, Co Clare, to complete whatever courses the probation services decided he should.
