
X wants to appeal High Court ruling dismissing Coimisiún na Meán case
X
wants to appeal a
High Court
ruling dismissing its action against Ireland's broadcasting and online media regulator,
Coimisiún na Meán
, over its online safety code.
X International Unlimited Company, which operates X, formerly known as Twitter, had alleged that the media regulator engaged in 'regulatory overreach' in its approach to restrictions on certain video content.
Coimisiún na Meán's online safety code, which was adopted last October and came into effect earlier this month, sets out legally binding rules for video-sharing platforms. It is aimed at protecting the public, and especially children, from harmful online content.
The social media giant had sought a High Court order compelling the commission to quash its decision to adopt certain sections of the code. It also sought the court to overturn the commission's decision to apply the code to its platform.
READ MORE
In a judgment, Mr Justice Conleth Bradley
this week refused reliefs sought by X
. The judge dismissed several arguments made by the platform in the proceedings, including that the code was out of step with European legislation.
At the High Court on Thursday, senior counsel Declan McGrath, for X, appearing with barrister Emma Synnott, said he was instructed to seek permission to appeal the court's judgment.
In some High Court cases, permission must be granted by the court to appeal a judgment.
Noting the judge's provisional view that the costs of the High Court action be awarded to the commission, Mr McGrath said he would not be making any submissions on the matter.
Mr Justice Bradley set a date in October for the hearing of X's application for permission to appeal.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
The future of pocket money? NestiFi lets families invest together for kids
Traditional banking has – eventually – adopted innovations such as digital-only accounts and smartphone payments. However, some elements of the financial infrastructure are still firmly stuck in the past, as anyone who has tried to gift money to a child in forms other than cash or vouchers will have discovered. Having run across this problem himself, Niall Dennehy began mulling over a possible solution. He applied his background in banking, telecoms and digital payments, and in June this year launched NestiFi, an AI -powered investment platform allowing parents, grandparents, relatives and friends to invest in a child's future as a group. To start the process, a designated adult downloads the free app and sets up an account for the child. This provides access to a personalised link they can share with family and friends who want to contribute to the child's nest egg. The person overseeing the account then chooses from a range of low-fee index funds and invests the money. Performance expectations are based on a 7.2 per cent average annual return, which Dennehy says is the approximate historical average (adjusted for inflation) of the S&P 500 over the past 30 years. NestiFi does not need a banking licence as it does not hold any client money. Investments are made through licensed/regulated intermediaries such as brokers, credit unions and brokerage-as-a-service providers. 'NestiFi rethinks investing through the lens of family and collaboration,' he says, adding that it is designed to support families in several different ways, whether that's to save for college fees, give gifts of digital assets or introduce children to the concept of financial literacy. [ Ireland 'actively hindering its citizens from building wealth and securing their future' Opens in new window ] 'The platform supports traditional investments such as stocks and ETFs as well as blockchain-powered assets like stablecoins and tokenised real-world assets,' Dennehy says. 'Our AI adviser 'Sebastian' provides personalised financial guidance for each user, and children can earn rewards by completing interactive lessons. For example, if they spend X number of hours learning on the app, they'll get a voucher for the same amount of time for Disney Plus.' NestiFi is not Dennehy's first innovation rodeo. A graduate of the University of Galway, where he studied IT, Dennehy has been involved with multiple start-ups as founder/co-founder, including digital payments infrastructure company, Aid:Tech, which was the overall winner of The Irish Times Innovation Awards in 2018. NestiFi is his latest venture, and the company currently employs four people. 'I've spent the last decade building technology at the intersection of trust, transparency and financial inclusion, and it struck me that families have no modern tools with which to build wealth together because most investment apps are built for individuals, not families,' Dennehy says. 'I felt the time had come to replace siloed banking apps and old-school custodial accounts with a next-gen platform that would bring together traditional investing, blockchain assets and family-based financial literacy in one seamless experience,' he adds. Dennehy says the company's initial target market will be the US, where an $84 trillion (€75.5 trillion) intergenerational wealth transfer is already under way. Europe will follow, including Ireland, where Dennehy says a substantial wealth transfer will also take place over the next 20 years. Families are a key market for NestiFi, but so are credit unions, financial advisers, financial institutions and fintechs interested in offering NestiFi as a value-added service to their clients. Investment in the business to date is running at about €250,000, and the company is currently raising a seed round of €1.5 million. A private beta launch is slated for the third quarter, with a full roll-out in the US to follow later this year. NestiFi's revenue will come from transaction fees and signing up channel partners. NestiFi is taking part in the AI Ecosystem Accelerator Programme run jointly by NovaUCD and CeADAR – Ireland's centre for AI – while completing regulatory compliance in the US and guiding a pilot group of families through a test run of the app. 'The Tam (total addressable market) is huge, and while we face competition, I think we can differentiate ourselves through the ease of our user interface and the fact that this side of the market is underserved by technology,' Dennehy says. The biggest challenge Dennehy has faced in setting up NestiFi has been navigating regulatory complexity while trying to move fast. 'We're building something that touches custody, tokenised assets and AI, all in a space where compliance really matters, especially when kids and families are involved. Trying to innovate responsibly without getting stuck in red tape has been the real balancing act,' he says. As a serial entrepreneur, Dennehy knows his way around the start-up ecosystem. However, he says that clearer guidance and faster turnaround times within the grants system would make a massive difference to how fast a company can develop. 'Often, the paperwork is intense, and the decision timelines are too slow. If there were more founder-first grant supports with less admin and more mentorship built in, I think we'd see even more global-scale companies emerge from Ireland,' he says. 'Too often, start-ups are forced to chase funding instead of focusing on customers and product. There is a lot of goodwill and some excellent people in the ecosystem, but I think there's still a gap between ambition and execution. [ Google, CeADAR to partner on deal to support AI in Irish business Opens in new window ] 'What I'd truly love to see would be a founder-led innovation hub, something agile with fast access to capital, technical expertise, and hands-on support for international expansion. We need to move away from treating grants as red-tape-heavy lifelines and instead use them as strategic fuel to help early-stage teams build, test and scale faster,' Dennehy says. Are you aware of a recent innovation or innovator we should feature in this column? Email us at innovation@


Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Corporation tax take defies tariff fears even as Apple bows to Trump
Corporation taxes jumped fourfold in July compared to the same month last year even as the Government grows increasingly concerned about the multinational companies driving those revenues. Meanwhile, writes Eoin Burke-Kennedy, VAT receipts proved more modest than expected raising concerns about consumer spending. Apple agreed to spend another $100 billion on expanding its US manufacturing footprint as US President Donald Trump said he would impose a 100 per cent tariff on imports that include semiconductors, though would exempt companies moving production back to the United States. It comes as the 15 per cent tariff on US imports from the European Union kick in today. Meanwhile, as President Trump returns to the notion of supertariffs of the pharma sector, Eoin Burke-Kennedy examines what the latest pharma threats mean for Ireland? The future of accessories retailer Claire's is uncertain after the parent of the 20 Irish stores filed again for bankruptcy protection in the US. Conor Pope writes that restructuring firm Interpath which was tasked with finding a buyer for the European operation struggled to find a financial backer. READ MORE Sticking with retail, Hammerson's Irish boss, Connor Owens , who is credited with revitalising the group's Irish operations, has been headhunted by the new US owners of the Blanchardstown Centre to run its business here. Barry O'Halloran reports. A factory worker whose employer forced him to retire at 65 despite his contract having no such stipulation has been awarded €18,000 by the Labour Court. The Irish are buying back into foreign holidays as Central Bank data shows that credit and debit card users spent more on hotels abroad than in Ireland in June for the first time since 2022. Ian Curran has the details. Tourism Ireland spent over €2.4 million on a campaign to attract environmentally conscious visitors who were looking for a 'slower paced, more immersive holiday' and, according to early data it has been a success. Ken Foxe reports. In her Net Results column, Ciara O'Brien looks at the belated rise of femtech , noting that there is clearly money to be made catering to a group that comprises 51 per cent of the population and 48 per cent of the workforce. Meanwhile, Emmet Ryan looks at Big Tech's focus on partnering with major sporting events and wonders whether it will transform how we watch sports? Conscious of the limitations of Ireland's online banking offering, Niall Dennehy applied his background in banking, telecoms and digital payments to develop NestFi , an app that allows an extended family and friends invest in the future of a child. Finally, in our Inside Business podcast this week, host Ciarán Hancock talks to Siobhán Maguire about Revenue's recent wake-up call to influencers about how those freebies on which they build their brand are, in fact, taxable. If you'd like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money , the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.

Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Number of failed asylum applicants granted leave to remain in State drops by half
There has been a reduction of more than half in the number of unsuccessful international protection applicants who have been given leave to remain in the State by the Minister for Justice over the past two years. New figures released by the Department of Justice show that then minister for justice Helen McEntee gave permission to remain in the State to 1,010 people who failed to be granted asylum or refugee status in 2023. In 2024, however, that number dropped sharply to 483. Under the current Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan, there appears to be a continuing reduction in permissions. A total of 210 permissions have been granted between January 1st and July 18th this year, suggesting the overall number for 2025 could be as low as 400. READ MORE Mr O'Callaghan disclosed the figures in response to a parliamentary question from Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín. He pointed out that an exceptionally high number of permissions had been granted in 2022 – 2,835. The higher numbers for that year, he said, were attributed to the impact of Covid and the moratorium imposed during the pandemic on removing people from the State. He also said there was a once-off scheme that allowed undocumented people to regularise their status in 2022, and that included people living in the State who had failed to get protection status. 'It is a central priority for me that our international protection and immigration systems are robust and enforced,' said Mr O'Callaghan. [ Asylum seekers: Numbers seeking international protection in Ireland fell by 43% this year Opens in new window ] The International Protection Act sets out what the Minister should consider when making a decision to grant or refuse permission to remain. The factors include a person's connection to Ireland; humanitarian considerations; character and conduct; and national security. The Minister must also consider if there is a risk that returning a person to another country could lead to them suffering harm, particularly from torture, degrading treatment or facing the death penalty. The figures show that people from Nigeria make up more than 20 per cent of those allowed to remain. Other countries with a high number of permissions are Georgia; South Africa; Zimbabwe; Pakistan; Malawi; Egypt; Congo; China; Botswana; Brazil; Bangladesh; India; and Morocco.