The European Commissions Action Plan Against Cyberbullying aims to protect the mental health of children and teens online in the EU. The Action Plan is built around: the rollout of an EU-wide app where victims of online bullying can easily get help, the coordination of national approaches to tackle harmful behaviour online, and the prevention of cyberbullying by encouraging better and safer digital practices.
EU-wide app to report cyberbullying
Victims of cyberbullying must have a clear and easy way to report harassment and get help. 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. More importantly, 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 Member States can then use to adapt, translate and connect to relevant national services.
A coordinated EU approach
Every young person across the EU should be equally protected from cyberbullying. Member States should develop comprehensive national plans and use a common understanding of cyberbullying to collect and compare data. This is an important step towards a more united front against cyberbullying.
There are ongoing initiatives in place to protect and empower minors online. To boost their effectiveness in tackling cyberbullying, the Commission will identify opportunities where they can be finetuned. Specifically, the Commission will:
- Review of the Digital Services Act (DSA) guidelines on 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.
Cyberbullying prevention
The Action Plan encourages healthy, responsible, and respectful digital practices from an early age. Preventing cyberbullying will be the focus of the upcoming review of the Commissions 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.
‘Safer Internet Day
The Commission will continue to promote childrens rights and well-being online and offline through the Safer Internet Day.
Launched in 2004 in the EU, Safer Internet Day is now celebrated in approximately 160 countries and territories worldwide, advocating for a safer and better online world for all. The European Commission remains committed to enhancing the rights and well-being of children both online and offline, across Europe and globally.
Next steps
The Commission will implement the Cyberbullying Action Plan together with Member States, industry, civil society, international organisations and children themselves.
In parallel, the Commission is working on upcoming initiatives such as the piloting of an EU privacy-preserving age verification solution, the upcoming Digital Fairness Act, a panel of experts to inform the Commissions work on protecting children online and an enquiry on the impact of social on mental health.
Background
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 others. According to a Eurobarometer survey released last year, over 9 in 10 Europeans state it is urgent the action of the public authorities to protect the children online regarding the negative impact of social media on their mental health (93%), cyberbullying and online harassment (92%) and assuring mechanisms to restrict age-inappropriate content (92%).
The Cyberbullying Action Plan was developed based on a targeted consultation with more than 6 000 children and a broader public consultation.
The Action Plan builds upon the tools and rules that are already in place and that help combat cyberbullying.
The Digital Services Act requires online platforms to ensure a high level of privacy, safety and security for minors online. The guidelines for the protection of minors recommend measures for platforms, such as ensuring that children can block and or mute any user and that they cannot be added to groups without their consent online.
The Audiovisual Media Services Directive requires video-sharing platforms to take appropriate measures to avoid minors accessing harmful content, which includes cyberbullying content.
The Artificial Intelligence Act prohibits systems that manipulate or deceive people, including children, in harmful ways, and it establishes rules around labelling deepfakes to prevent deception.
The Action Plan will boost the visibility and outreach of the resources available through the network of Safer Internet Centres, which provide support tools for children, parents, carers, educators and professionals on the ground at national level, and via the multilingual Better Internet for Kids platform. In 2025, around 48 million European citizens used Safer Internet Centres resources.
For more information
The Action Plan Against Cyberbullying