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Central Bank is Ireland’s first ‘trusted flagger’

The media watchdog Coimisiún na Meán (CnaM) has granted 'trusted flagger’ status to the Central Bank under EU legislation on digital services. 

Under the Digital Services Act (DSA), CnaM is Ireland’s digital-services co-ordinator, and has the power to award the designation to organisations established in Ireland that meet certain conditions. 

The Central Bank is the first entity to be given the status in Ireland – the designation runs for three years, up to 2 April 2028. 

Notices prioritised 

Trusted flaggers have the power to identify, detect, and notify illegal content within their area of expertise to online platforms.  

Providers of online platforms are then legally obliged to ensure that notices of the presence of illegal content, reported by trusted flaggers, are given priority and decided upon without undue delay. 

“We recognise that financial scams and fraud are a concern to the Irish public, and we welcome the Central Bank of Ireland’s expertise in this area,” said Digital Services Commissioner John Evans. 

He added that the move legally obliged online platforms to ensure that any illegal online content reported by the Central Bank, such as financial scams and fraud, was prioritised by the platform and dealt with in a timely manner. 

‘Protecting consumers’ 

Entities awarded trusted-flagger status are recognised across the EU, while they will also feed into CnaM’s identification of trends and issues through annual reports to the watchdog. 

“This accreditation marks another milestone in the Bank’s commitment to protecting consumers and strengthens our efforts to disrupt the activities of unauthorised providers of regulated financial services,” said Central Bank Governor Gabriel Makhlouf. 

Under article 22 of the DSA, trusted-flagger status can be granted to entities that meet the following conditions: 

• Expertise and competence for the purposes of detecting, identifying, and notifying illegal content,
• Independence from any provider of online platforms, and
• Carries out its activities for the purposes of submitting notices diligently, accurately, and objectively.