One in six children between 11 and 15 years old claims to have been a victim of cyberacoso. Aware of this scourge, the European Commission presented this Tuesday a new “action plan” against the bullying to protect the health of young people in Internet.
This measure includes the creation of a application “easy to use and accessible” that the victims of harassment they can use to report their cases, collect evidence and go to a national helpline. In line with the community harmonization process, collaboration and coordination between Member States is requested.
The announcement of Brusselswhich coincides with Internet Safety Day, is not a new law, but rather a declaration of intent to review and “effectively” apply existing regulations that already put a stop to abuse online.
Apply existing laws
It is the case of the Digital Services Law (DSA), which requires social networks y digital platforms to adopt measures privacy y security to ensure, for example, that minors cannot be added to groups without their consent, be exposed to “harmful content” or that they can easily block any user who engages in such abusive practices.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, addresses the plenary session of the European Parliament, this Wednesday in Strasbourg. / YOAN VALAT / EFE
This is also the case of the Law of Artificial intelligence (or AI Act), which establishes rules on the labeling of deepfakes —hyperrealistic but fake images generated with IA that can serve to impersonate the identity—to prevent them from being used to deceive or humiliate the victims. That regulation —that the Community Executive of Ursula von der Leyen are trying to lose weight—also forces companies that market generative tools like ChatGPT, Gemini o Grok to be more transparent.
“Children and young people have the right to be safe when they are online. Cyberbullying undermines this right, making them feel hurt, alone and humiliated. No child should feel this way,” he said. Henna Virkkunenexecutive vice president of Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, in a statement.
With this proposal, which will also expand resources and training on cyberbullying for schools, the Commission tries to respond to the concerns expressed by the more than 6,000 boys and girls it consulted, as well as address a general feeling. And more than 9 out of 10 Europeans (93%) say that it is urgent for public authorities to adopt measures to protect minors in the digital world, according to a survey by the Eurobarometer published in 2025.
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