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The European Commission outlined its action plan against cyberbullying in the European Parliament on Tuesday. The scheme aims to support young people who are victims of online bullying to safely report abuse and access support.
Part of the plan includes rolling out an app across the EU that allows children to confidentially report bullying to national helplines, securely store and transmit evidence, and receive assistance from law enforcement, education and child protection services.
Although still in its early stages, EU officials said the EU’s 27 member states would develop a blueprint for an app that could be adapted for local use, drawing on successful existing models such as France’s 3018 app and helpline.
The commission said cyberbullying is a phenomenon that affects one in six children between the ages of 11 and 15.
“Children and young people have the right to be safe when they are online,” said EU technology chief Hena Virkunen. “Cyberbullying undermines this right and leaves children feeling hurt, alone and humiliated. No child should ever have to feel this way.”
“Based on a common understanding of what cyberbullying is, we call on all member states to develop nationally consistent cyberbullying policies,” she added.
“Addictive design features” are also being scrutinized
The proposal comes as the EU takes a number of steps to protect children from the harmful effects of social media, from considering a bloc-wide ban on teenagers to developing new age verification tools and cracking down on “addictive” features in apps.
Last week, the commission found that TikTok’s addictive design violated Europe’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and failed to adequately protect users.
The regulator’s preliminary findings reflect growing pressure on social media platforms, particularly on screen time for children and teenagers. Regulators around the world are increasingly questioning whether technology companies are doing enough to protect young users from addictive design features.
“The Digital Services Act holds platforms accountable for the impact they have on their users. Europe is enforcing laws to protect children and citizens online,” Virkkunen said on Friday.
Beyond the app’s proposals, the company’s bullying “action plan” calls for targeted enforcement of existing EU laws to curb the phenomenon.
This includes strengthening rules under the DSA to protect minors from harmful content and supporting targeted enforcement of AI laws to combat the use of deepfakes for bullying.
Additional sources of information • AFP