Trending 
The European Commission on Tuesday unveiled plans for a Europe-wide app designed to help young victims of online bullying report abuse safely and access support.
The proposal forms part of a wider EU effort to protect children from online harm and sits within a new action plan targeting cyberbullying, which affects up to one in six children aged 11 to 15, according to the Commission.
“Urgent action is needed to protect children online, particularly from cyberbullying and online harassment,” the Commission said in a statement.
“One in six children aged 11 to 15 report that they have been victims of cyberbullying, and about one in eight admit they have bullied others online. The Commission has therefore announced a plan against cyberbullying on 10 February, Safer Internet Day,” it wrote.
“The new plan is built around the rollout of an EU-wide app where victims of online bullying can easily get help. Through the app, children and teens will be able to report incidents to a national helpline, receive support, and safely store evidence of bullying.”
The initiative remains at an early stage. As a first step, the EU’s executive arm will develop a standard app blueprint that the bloc’s 27 member states can adapt for national use, drawing on successful models such as France’s “3018” app and helpline.
Once implemented, the app would allow children to report bullying confidentially to a national helpline, securely store and share evidence, and receive support from law enforcement, education authorities, or child protection services.
EU technology chief Henna Virkkunen said children and young people have the right to feel safe online, warning that cyberbullying violates this right by leaving victims feeling hurt, isolated, and humiliated.
Virkkunen stressed that no child should be made to feel this way, saying, “Children and young people have the right to be safe when they are online.”
“Cyberbullying undermines this right, leaving them feeling hurt, lonely, and humiliated. No child should be made to feel this way.”
The proposal comes as the EU intensifies efforts on several fronts to reduce the harmful effects of social media on children.
These efforts include examining a possible bloc-wide ban for younger teenagers, developing a new age-verification tool, and tightening controls on so-called addictive app features.
In addition to the app, the Commission’s anti-bullying action plan calls for stricter enforcement of existing EU laws to curb online abuse.
This includes strengthening protections for minors under the Digital Services Act and supporting targeted enforcement of the AI Act to tackle the use of deepfakes for bullying.
