Need for targeted criminal provisions and platforms’ responsibility to effectively address cyberbullying and online harassment

In this non-legislative resolution, Parliament addresses the need for targeted criminal provisions and platforms' responsibility to effectively tackle cyberbullying and online harassment. Referring to the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Digital Services Act, the Victims' Rights Directive and the Commission's Action Plan against cyberbullying, it notes that cyberbullying is a growing problem affecting around one in six children aged 11 to 15 in Europe and disproportionately harming women and girls, LGBTIQ+ people, children with disabilities and those from minority backgrounds. It highlights the absence of a commonly agreed legal definition of cyberbullying at EU or international level and the resulting legal fragmentation across Member States, which produces unequal protection for victims and legal uncertainty for law enforcement. The text underscores the cross-border dimension of cyberbullying and the new dangers posed by artificial intelligence, and invokes the possibility of action under Articles 83(1) and (2) TFEU.