Social media companies have insisted their platforms are not addictive while appearing before an Oireachtas committee.
This comes as companies including TikTok, Meta, and Snapchat were questioned by senators and TDs in the Dáil about alleged harmful algorithms and inappropriate content on their sites.
Sinn Féin TD Claire Kerrane had asked representatives from TikTok if they would acknowledge that the platform can be addictive.
In response, TikTok's Minor Safety Public Policy Lead Richard Collard said: "We wouldn't agree with the term addictive but that doesn't mean we don't take the wellbeing of children incredibly seriously".
"When we look at TikTok, and for instance the recommender algorithm, for us that is about making sure that on a platform with 100 million pieces of content uploaded every day, that is content that is relevant to users of our platform," he said.
Elsewhere, Fine Gael TD Grace Boland had asked Director of Public Policy for Meta in Ireland, Dualta Ó Broin about content relating to mental health issues like suicide and eating disorders.
He replied: "They are not allowed".
Ms Boland then asked: "What verification do you do to make sure no content is slipping through?".
Mr Ó Broin replied: "We can't obviously say that absolutely no content will slip through and we have very strict enforcement in relation to proactive enforcement and reporting".
"In terms of what is allowed to be recommended, that type of content is not allowed".
Earlier, Mr Ó Broin had told the committee that Meta has "fundamentally changed" how teenagers interact on Instagram and Facebook. He stated that the company is "constantly" coming up with ways to respond risk posed to underage users.
He added that such ways include the use of "teen accounts" which restrict what type of content features on a feed and additional steps for parents to limit material further.
Executives from Microsoft were asked if Xbox games were designed to addictive, which saw the Director of Public Policy and Digital Safety Liz Thomas reply by pointing out the parent controls and safety features which are in place.
"We would say that this is part of a holistic experience and we wouldn't term any of it as 'addictive mechanics", she said. "It's part of a whole approach to gameplay and thinking about what the opportunities are to make that interesting for players".
Elsewhere, members of the committee on Children and Equality asked Snapchat executives why messages on the site would disappear amid concerns around cyberbullying and claims that it can make it more difficult for parents to monitor what their children are doing on the app.
Explaining the disappearing messages, Freddie Cook, Public Policy Manager for the UK and Ireland had said they disappear by default and users can change that setting if they wish, to an hour or a few days.
"The reason the messages disappear is because we want Snap to replicate day-to-day conversations," Ms Cook said. "So if you were at school or at work there wouldn't be a written record of what had been shared or exchanged".
