The European Commission has launched an Action Plan Against Cyberbullying aiming to protect the mental health of children and teens online in the EU.
It is estimated that around one in six children aged 11 to 15 report that they have been victims of cyberbullying and about one in eight admit to cyberbullying other.
The Action Plan is built around rollout of an EU-wide app where victims of online bullying can easily get help, coordinating national approaches to tackle harmful behaviour online, and the prevention of cyberbullying by encouraging better and safer digital practices.
Victims of cyberbullying must have a clear and easy way to report harassment and get help, says the Commission. This is why an essential element of the Action Plan is the release of an easy-to-use and accessible app to report cyberbullying to a national helpline. The app will be a way for children and teens to receive support, and they will be able to safely store and send evidence. The Commission will develop a blueprint of the app which EU Member States can use to adapt, translate and connect to relevant national services.
“Children and young people have the right to be safe when they are online,” said EC executive vice-president Henna Virkkunen: “Cyberbullying undermines this right, leaving them feeling hurt, lonely, and humiliated. No child should be made to feel this way.”
The Commission is also looking for improvements in ongoing EU initiatives to protect and empower minors online, including:
- Review of the Digital Services Act (DSA) guidelines on the protection of minors to the protection of minors to strengthen the measures that online platforms have to take to prevent minors from being exposed to harmful content and to easily report it;
- Adopt DSA guidelines on trusted flaggers to clarify their role in tackling illegal content, including illegal cyberbullying content;
- Address cyberbullying on video sharing platforms in the ongoing evaluation and the review of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD);
- Support the effective implementation of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act provisions on prohibited AI practices, including when they are used for cyberbullying;
- Facilitate the effective implementation of the AI Act transparency obligations, including through a code of practice on marking and labelling of AI-generated content, which can be misused for cyberbullying.
Preventing cyberbullying will be the focus of an upcoming review of the Commission’s guidelines for educators on promoting digital literacy, as part of the broader objective to strengthen digital skills and improve the use of digital technologies under the Union of Skills.
In parallel, the Commission will expand cyberbullying resources and training for schools through the Safer Internet Centres and the Better Internet for Kids Platform.
The Action Plan Against Cyberbullying
