On Safer Internet Day, the European Commission published the Action Plan against Cyberbullying, which is one of the pillars of the European Union’s strategy for the protection of children and adolescents in the digital space.
This Action Plan was announced by President von der Leyen in her2024-2029 policy guidelines. In addition, von der Leyen entrusted the Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef, with its development in her 2024 mission letter.
Cyberbullying is one of the most common contact risks experienced by minors. The 2022 study conducted by Health Behaviour in School-aged Children in collaboration with the WHO Regional Office for Europe shows that 15% of European adolescents reported having been victims of cyberbullying at least once or twice in in the two months prior to the survey. Additionally, the report provides a comparison with data collected in 2018, showing an increasing trend in cyberbullying between those years. However, it should be noted that this trend may not necessarily be the current one.
The attention given to the protection of minors in digital spaces, accompanied by voluntary initiatives, may have reversed this trend. Specifically, the Digital Childhood report shows a three percentage point decline in what they call “cyber victimisation”, referring to the experience of suffering harm through digital media, such as social networks, instant messaging or online platforms. This paints a more hopeful picture regarding the effectiveness of “soft” measures and the possibilities for achieving an environment free from cyberbullying.
What measures does the Action Plan against cyberbullying propose?
The document begins with an introduction highlighting the European Union’s objectives and initiatives for the protection of children and adolescents in digital spaces. In particular, it emphasises age restrictions at preventing minors from accessing social media, video-sharing platforms and AI companions, as well as the need to find a common approach at European level for the minimum age of access.
The document then presents “the way forward” to reduce the occurrence of cyberbullying and mitigate its impact on children who suffer from it. It introduces the three pillars on which the action plan is based, with the next steps for the European Commission and recommendations to Member States.
Pillar I, “a coordinated EU approach to protection”, aims to promote the full and effective use of existing European policy and legal instruments. It sets out the Commission’s next steps for reviewing the guidelines for the application of Article 28 of the Digital Services Act (DSA), evaluating the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) and implementing the transparency obligations and provisions on prohibited practices in the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act). In addition, it recommends that Member States develop national plans to combat cyberbullying to accompany these measures.
Pillar II, “prevention and awareness-raising”, introduces initiatives to raise awareness and provide guidance to families, the educational community, children, teenagers, and other actors who may be directly or indirectly involved in cyberbullying situations. Some notable measures include the 2030 roadmap on the future of education and digital skills, the update of guidelines for teachers and educators on combating disinformation and promoting digital literacy, and the recommendation to Member States to strengthen youth participation in policy design.
Finally, pillar III, “reporting and comprehensive support”, seeks to create clear, reliable and accessible channels for reporting abuse, as well as promoting support and protection structures for minors. In this regard, the Commission aims to create an Online Safety App to facilitate the reporting of cyberbullying. In addition, Member States are invited to make this application available in their countries based on existing successful national models.
Towards an effective protection
The content of the plan presents a comprehensive vision for action which, if implemented effectively, has great potential to mitigate cyberbullying and its consequences. However, it should be highlighted that this plan only addresses one of contact risks to which children and adolescents are exposed in the digital environment.
In the position paper on protection of minors that we published last year, we discussed the various risks to which they are exposed, along with recommendations on how to mitigate them and Telefónica’s voluntary initiatives. Identified contact risks also included grooming, sexting, sexcasting and engagement with cybercriminals.
Therefore, despite the importance of having a strategy against cyberbullying, we must not forget the need for ongoing parallel actions that contribute to reducing other contact risks. Only with a comprehensive approach will we be able to build a safe digital environment for minors.
