One result of enforcing those measures is that Coimisiún na Meán is to inform digital platforms that they must find an effective form of age verification for those seeking to view pornography on websites. The possible forms of age verification range from confirming one’s passport details to uploading a selfie to confirm one’s age.

Possible flaws have been pointed out regarding those measures. Will users want to share passport details with such websites? When it comes to uploading photos, a person may look considerably older, or younger, than their actual age; there is a reason supermarkets advise workers to consider if a customer ‘looks 25’ when buying alcohol, after all.

However, what is key in this intervention from Coimisiún na Meán is that the organisation is putting the onus of responsibility on the platforms themselves.

For many years now, websites of various types have ducked any semblance of accountability for their content by pleading that they are platforms and not publishers, thus avoiding responsibility for the material to be found on their sites. While it’s likely that many will focus on the measures relating to pornography mentioned above, a Coimisiún na Meán spokesperson also pointed to “things like promotion of self-harm and suicide, promotion of eating disorders, cyberbullying of children”.

“They’re all covered by the code. We’re saying to the platforms: ‘You must prohibit that in the terms and conditions. And you must apply those terms and conditions diligently and have flagging mechanisms to identify them.’”

Coimisiún na Meán deserves credit for refusing to accept that we have no option but to accept the availability of dangerous and objectionable material as a modern pitfall. They deserve all due support in ensuring the companies profiting from such material meet their legal obligations.

Jenni Hermoso is taking a stand

Last summer’s Women’s World Cup tournament in Australia was a watershed moment in women’s sport.

In Ireland — for instance — the progress of the Irish team was followed closely, while England vs Spain final was a ratings winner everywhere and ended in a dramatic win for the Spanish side.

Everyone knows now what happened immediately afterwards — when the winners received their medals, the president of the Spanish football federation, Luis Rubiales, kissed Spanish star Jenni Hermoso on the lips. 

Hermoso said the kiss was not consensual and that she felt victimised, and she has been consistent in that stance ever since.

Mr Rubiales has been forced out of his job — and received a three-year ban from Fifa for all football-related activities — while this week, Hermoso testified in court against him.

Spanish prosecutors have accused him of sexual assault, as well as coercion for allegedly trying to persuade Hermoso to defend him after controversy erupted.

It is hugely unfortunate that the World Cup final should be overshadowed by this controversy. What should have been a celebration has become, instead, a legal nightmare for Hermoso and her team-mates.

But that is why they deserve the highest praise, for taking such a strong stand when it would have been far easier to enjoy the aftermath of victory, to collaborate with Rubiales’ wish to downplay the seriousness of the incident, and to avoid the drawn-out legal process — which saw Hermoso in a Madrid court this week, almost five months after the game itself.

It was also encouraging to see the extent of the support Hermoso received from players all over the world — including the England team, who have worn wristbands in support of Hermoso in subsequent games.

By taking a stand now to ensure future generations of women do not face the same problems, Hermoso and her team-mates have recognised the bigger picture and won more than just a trophy.

Rory McIlroy's change of mind 

The significance of sport in a wider social context can be seen above in the Hermoso-Rubiales case, but the takeaways are not always as uplifting.

Earlier this week, Rory McIlroy featured on a popular sports podcast, the golfer reminding Roy Keane of a time when the Manchester United legend refused to sign an autograph for him.

McIlroy’s views on the LIV golf tour were more substantive. He was critical of fellow professionals when they first joined the lucrative Saudi Arabia-backed tour, which has been held up as a classic example of sportswashing.

Now McIlroy says: “I was probably judgemental of the guys that went at the start and I think that was a bit of a mistake on my part”, adding he had since “accepted reality” that LIV was “part of our sport now”. McIlroy is entitled to change his mind, and it is questionable whether he should have had to play the role of defender of golf’s values in the first place.

However, if one of LIV’s most trenchant critics now accepts that it is a reality which is part of golf, then the sportswashing has been successful. 

The dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was often mentioned when the LIV tour began, but it didn’t take long for him to be forgotten.