On Safer Internet Day, the European Commission adopted its first Action Plan against Cyberbullying. Built around three pillars, the Action Plan seeks to strengthen the EU response to cyberbullying:
- A coordinated EU approach to protection with the continuous enforcement of existing laws and extend their focus on cyberbullying. Based on a common definition of cyberbullying, Member States are also encouraged to develop national cyberbullying policies.
- Prevention and awareness raising activities and tools will be developed with the participation of children, parents, educators, mental health experts, and civil society organisations.
- Reporting and support through various means will be enhance, including with the rollout of an online safety app across all member states, enabling children and young people to easily report cyberbullying, store and submit evidence, and receive tailored assistance. The App will work in synergies with existing reporting mechanisms, including missing children hotlines (116 000) and child helplines (116 111).
Missing Children Europe (MCE) strongly welcomes the adoption of this Action Plan as an important step towards strengthening children’s safety and well-being in the digital environment for all children, including those who are in a vulnerable situation. In Europe, 1 in 6 children aged 11 to 15 report that they have been victims of cyberbullying, with children from vulnerable groups, being disproportionately exposed2.
Cyberbullying is not an isolated phenomenon. For many children, it is closely intertwined with other forms of online harm, including online grooming, sexual exploitation, and sextortion, which may lead to child disappearance.
While the Action Plan fails to explicitly recognise the link between cyberbullying and children going missing, it does reference the 116 000 hotlines for missing children as an essential and well-established reporting mechanism. Such hotlines form a safety net, ensuring that children affected by cyberbullying, and in some cases at risk of going missing, receive immediate, specialised and coordinated assistance.
Our annual data on missing children in Europe consistently highlights a strong link between children’s exposure to violence, including online forms such as cyberbullying, and their decisions to run away3. Since 2018, bullying has been recognised as a key driver of school-related disappearances, and in recent years, it has emerged as the most frequently reported reason why children go missing from school settings4.
The common definition of cyberbullying is also a positive development which will allow for more effective collection of data on cyberbullying. MCE encourages Member States to enhance their data collection mechanisms on missing children to also cross-reference cyberbullying indicators with missing children statistics.
Finally, MCE also welcomes the foreseen participation of children and young people in the design and delivery of awareness raising initiatives and tools as well as training materials.
MCE stands ready to support the implementation of this Action Plan, including the rollout of the online safety app which should be integrated into national child protection systems, and to contribute its expertise from the 116 000 network. Protecting children online requires not only technological solutions, but sustained investment in support systems, cross-border cooperation and child-centred responses.