Schull students protest at Facebook HQ today

STUDENTS from Schull Community College travelled to Dublin to protest outside the Facebook headquarters today.

The students, who vary in ages from Junior Cert to transition year, called out the tech giant for deliberately hiding research which showed the mental and physical damage Instagram causes to teenage girls.

The students donned full face masks depicting Instagram filters, which alter the shape of faces, and held aloft a placard that stated, ‘Face up to Facebook, Minister Catherine Martin.’

Not content with their public protest at noon, they marched to the gates of the Dáil at 1pm and quite literally called out public representatives and urged them to support the Online Media Safety Regulation Bill and ‘stand up to big tech.’

One West Cork TD, who took time out of her schedule to meet students from her alma mater, was Social Democrat TD Holly Cairns.

Layla Wade, a campaigner at Uplift – a people powered campaigning community – told The Southern Star there was ‘cross party support among the TDs and senators who came out to meet the young protestors outside the Dáil.’

She said the students from Schull, many of whom are affiliated to Uplift, were determined to impress upon the Oireachtas members that the issue was a serious one and would not be ignored by the younger generation.