Ireland's new media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán, today held the first meeting of its Youth Advisory Committee.
The committee has been established to assist and advise the regulator in relation to its online safety functions and other matters.
It currently comprises representatives from nine national youth groups and nine individual young people under 25 years of age.
Coimisiún na Meán will be consulting with the committee on the draft Online Safety Code which was released for public consultation earlier this month.
The code is designed to protect users of video-sharing platforms.
Once the new rules are established, they will be legally binding and platforms will face fines of up to €20m for breaches of the code.
Social media firms will have to protect children from specific types of harmful online material including cyberbullying, content that promotes eating disorders, and content that promotes self-harm or suicide.
After consultation, the finalised code will form part of Ireland's overall online safety framework which will also include the EU Digital Services Act and the EU Terrorist Content Online Regulation.
"In putting in place online safeguards for children and young people, it's important to hear their experiences online and their views on what we are proposing," said Online Safety Commissioner, Niamh Hodnett.
"In establishing the inaugural youth advisory committee, we wanted to capture the views and experiences of a wide range of children and young people," Ms Hodnett said.
The committee will meet again in January, to discuss the draft Online Safety Code and draft guidance materials.
