Resolution on the need for targeted criminal provisions and platforms’ responsibility to effectively address cyberbullying and online harassment

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the need for targeted criminal provisions and platforms’ responsibility to effectively address cyberbullying and online harassment.

The text adopted in plenary was tabled by the EPP, S&D and Renew groups.

Cyberbullying action plan

Parliament welcomed the Commission action plan against cyberbullying as a framework to tackle cyberbullying and the stricter implementation and enforcement of current legislation. The Commission and the Member States are called on to invest in age-appropriate digital education and media literacy, in order to ensure that these resources reach children in all socio-economic contexts. Comprehensive national anti-cyberbullying plans should be established by Member States and provide for effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for cyberbullying offences, taking into account the seriousness of the conduct and the vulnerability of the victim.

Criminal law

Despite the legislative and policy measures taken at EU and national level, cyberbullying and image- or video-based abuse are continuing to increase across the EU, indicating that existing instruments, including obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA) and harmonisation under the directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, may not be sufficient to address the full scale and severity of the problem. Members noted that the action plan against cyberbullying does not provide for measures in the field of criminal law at EU level.

It invited the Commission to: (i) assess the need for a more harmonised approach at EU level to define cyberbullying; (ii) examine whether cyberbullying, including the non-consensual dissemination of intimate material, should be recognised as a particularly serious crime with a cross-border dimension at EU level; (iii) increase the investigative capacities of Member States, including for combating cross-border cyberbullying.

Online platforms and the DSA

The Commission and the Member States are called on to ensure that platforms are held accountable to prevent and counter cyberbullying. The resolution underlined that the DSA addresses some aspects of harassment and cyberbullying, which already obliges providers to ensure a high level of privacy, safety and security for minors.

Parliament regretted the current lack of a legal framework to allow for the detection of child sexual abuse material online and called on the Commission to take swift action to ensure that voluntary reporting mechanisms of child sexual abuse material are put in place.

Other measures

The resolution expressed concern about the growing use of AI for abusive purposes, including generating deepfakes, voice cloning and non-consensual intimate content. It reiterated the need to ban ‘nudifier applications’ under the AI Act as part of the AI omnibus negotiations.

Protection of victims

Parliament recalled the need to strengthen protection of and support for victims of cyberbullying, including adequate funding for victims’ organisations. It stated that victims should be able to report cyberbullying in an easy way and for the action plan against cyberbullying to provide an online safety app against cyberbullying, as a user-friendly and EU-wide interoperable reporting mechanism, to centralise reporting, coordinated support and the collection of evidence.

Lastly, it called for the swift implementation and transposition of the revised Victims’ Rights Directive.