Online hate, blackmail and harassment are taking an ever heavier toll on the mental health of children and teenagers, contributing to a rise in self-harm and suicide attempts. Police data show that in 2025 the number of suicides in this age group increased by almost 27% year on year. The European Commission is launching an action plan against cyberbullying that includes, among other measures, the creation of an EU-wide support app for victims and stronger accountability for online platforms for the content they host. A key step, experts argue, is to recognise cyberbullying as a criminal offence.
“Harassment, ubiquitous hate, online blackmail—this all has a very negative impact on the mental health of children and adolescents. That is why we are seeing such a sharp increase not only in self-harm, but unfortunately also in suicides. Prevention is clearly needed, along with awareness-building and information campaigns that reach not only children, but also teachers—who spend a lot of time with children at school—and parents,” said Ewa Kopacz, Vice-President of the European Parliament and the EP’s Coordinator on Children’s Rights, in an interview with Newseria.
According to data cited by the European Commission (based on a World Health Organization report), roughly one in six children aged 11–15 report having been a victim of cyberbullying, while about one in eight admit to cyberbullying others.
“Today, children cannot cope with their problems on their own, yet only 40% turn to their parents for help and 25% to teachers. What shocks me is that 11% of the children consulted by European Commission representatives on the new rules admitted they don’t tell anyone—meaning they remain completely alone in their misery,” Kopacz said.
A report by the Polish Suicidological Society, drawing on data from the National Police Headquarters, states that in the under-19 age group the number of deaths by suicide rose from 127 in 2024 to 161 in 2025—an increase of nearly 27%. The rise was also unexpected, since a downward trend had been observed over the previous two years (2023–2024).
In early February, the European Commission announced an EU action plan against cyberbullying aimed at protecting the mental health of children and teenagers online. A cornerstone of the plan is the introduction of an EU app through which victims of online harassment will be able to access help easily. In the Commission’s view, it will also be necessary to better coordinate national strategies for combating harmful online behaviour and to prevent cyberbullying by promoting improved and safer digital practices.
“Platforms bear special responsibility for children’s safety online. But they wash their hands of it and say: it’s not our problem. They would rather get richer—even at the cost of children’s mental health—than actually fix what is within their reach. For example, dangerous information and content that incites violence, or suggests how to self-harm or commit suicide. Such content is often not removed even after being reported. Sometimes it remains available for two or three months, exposing thousands of children to its impact,” the EP Vice-President stressed.
A Eurobarometer survey conducted last year found that over 90% of Europeans consider actions to protect children online urgent—especially regarding the negative impact of social media on mental health (93%), cyberbullying (92%), and the need for effective ways to limit access to age-inappropriate content (92%).
“Adults—parents, teachers, and politicians who shape EU or national law—have a duty of care towards children. Remember that children’s rights apply not only in real life, but also online. Today, adults must create laws and rules that are simple, transparent, and effective. Of course, they cannot act in isolation: European and national law must work together,” Kopacz said.
The EU’s Digital Services Act provides tools to fight illegal content. In Poland, however, the act implementing these provisions is still being processed after an earlier version was vetoed in early January by President Karol Nawrocki. According to the Ministry of Digital Affairs, the new rules would have introduced an appeal mechanism against platform decisions to block content, thereby increasing transparency in content moderation. The president argued that the bill would hand control over online content to officials subordinate to the government rather than independent courts. In his view, the proposed provisions undermined freedom of speech.
“We say ‘yes’ to limiting content that is criminal in nature, such as pedophilia or attempted murder. But we are firmly against restricting freedom of speech,” said Piotr Müller, a Member of the European Parliament from the Law and Justice party.
He noted that some political groups in the European Parliament are concerned about expanding the powers of the European Commission and member states to combat content deemed illegal or classified as hate speech. The definition of such content, he argued, creates room for abuse.
“Deleting content by social media platforms should be possible only in the most extreme cases—not when someone expresses a different opinion, for example on migration or on left-wing circles, because that is simply restricting freedom of speech,” Müller said.
Bogdan Zdrojewski, an MEP from the Civic Coalition, disagrees. He argues that Parliament is not advocating censorship, but rather clear rules on what can be published and what is plainly harmful.
“What would happen if we suddenly threw the highway code into the trash, abolished pedestrian crossings, traffic lights and signals? We would face total chaos. So this is about rules, not about cutting access. It is about regulations that help avoid threats, not about reducing access to content that is clearly educational, scientific or informative. It is also important that open debate is not restricted to the point that it becomes impossible to fight truly pathological phenomena,” Zdrojewski stressed.
The European action plan on cyberbullying was developed after consultations involving more than 6,000 children. An important element is the Digital Services Act—still not implemented in Poland—which obliges online platforms to ensure a high level of privacy, safety and protection for minors online. The guidelines recommend measures enabling children to block or mute any user and preventing children from being added to groups without their consent.
“What we can do nationally is, above all, effectively implement EU law and then enforce it—because that is not so simple,” Kopacz argued.
“We are seriously late with regulation. Artificial intelligence is entering the market, so young people—still insufficiently educated, especially children—must be protected. This is not a task for children, but for parents, teachers—adults, in short. We must ensure that children are protected from content that devastates their personality and potential. We need regulations that are effective,” said the Civic Coalition MEP.
The European Commission has announced further initiatives in this area, including a pilot EU tool for privacy-preserving age verification online and work on a Digital Fairness Act. An expert panel is expected to help the Commission develop a strategy to protect children online and to examine how social factors affect mental health.
