MEP Maria Walsh speaking on the Action Plan Against Cyberbullying at the February 11th Strasbourg Plenary Session.
Commissioner, the WHO reports that in Europe, one in seven children and young people under 19 is living with a mental health condition. Among teenage girls, the figure rises to one in four. The WHO explicitly identifies online environments as a contributing factor to this growing crisis.
But these are not just numbers. These are children in classrooms, in sport fields, in beds lying awake with their phones lighting up.
Children are growing up online, but we know that online platforms are failing them. Every day we read the headlines and hear another story of relentless online abuse.
Many of you will know, and have mentioned, Coco’s Law. Named after Nicole Fox, a young Irish girl who was bullied, in person and online, for three long years. After her tragic death, her mother Jackie refused to let that suffering be ignored. She turned grief into action, and because of her, Ireland now has legislation that treats online abuse for what it is: serious harm.
So, Commissioner, I welcome the Commission’s new action plan against cyberbullying. I welcome its focus on vulnerable young people, its work on definitions, on expanding the Digital Services Act, and on age verification. This matters.
But this plan must become a strategy with teeth. We need binding rules, clear enforcement, and above all we need to have the Commission work with this House to finally criminalise cyberbullying across the EU.
Cyberbullying kills and we have a responsibility to make sure we do everything in our power to prevent more tragedies and protect the mental health of our young people.