Better Internet for Kids

Alongside harmful content like sexual harassment, pornography, or violence, cyberbullying has emerged as one of the most pressing online safety concerns for young users in Europe. It exemplifies the complex challenges arising in fast-evolving digital spaces, where harmful behaviour can spread rapidly and affect young users deeply. 

Since 2019, the Insafe network of Safer Internet Centres has identified cyberbullying as the main reason for calls to their helplines (over 15 per cent of all calls). This trend has been confirmed by a study from the World Health Organisation (WHO), where 1 in 6 adolescents have experienced cyberbullying, and 1 in 8 admit to having participated in it. 

As digital participation becomes integral to young people’s lives, this data calls for renewed attention to fostering safe online experiences. In the EU Member States, addressing cyberbullying has become an increasingly recognised priority. To uphold children’s rights and mitigate risks, it is essential to implement:  

• clear legal safeguards;  
• prevention programmes embedded within education and welfare
• robust child protection policies

The BIK Policy monitor 

The BIK Policy monitor offers a comprehensive and comparable overview of how EU Member States, Iceland, and Norway implement the BIK+ strategy, including how they address cyberbullying in their legal and policy frameworks. By providing a structured analysis of national legislation and measures, the BIK Policy monitor tracks whether these frameworks are already in place, under development, not yet established, or supported by other relevant national actions. Following the latest data collection cycle in February 2025, approximately 65 per cent of countries reported having policies in place to address cyberbullying. 

More generally, cyberbullying is harmful but not always illegal. Indeed, across Member States, the existing legislation often covers various harmful and illegal online behaviours, such as harassment, threats, defamation, hate speech and the distribution of personal information without consent. 

Alongside these legal foundations, there is a growing emphasis on crafting dedicated national and regional strategies to prevent and mitigate cyberbullying. A strong trend is the integration of online safety policies within school environments, where they serve as a vital extension of broader anti-bullying frameworks. These school-based initiatives are designed to establish clear expectations for online conduct, manage the use of smartphones in schools, and define formal procedures for dealing with cyberbullying incidents. 

Examples include: 

• guidelines in Flanders as well as those for the French-speaking community in Belgium;
• training programmes for students, teachers, and parents like Bulgaria's Cyberscouts Program, Hungary's NETMENTOR Peer Mentoring Program, and Spain's ADA Programme;
• France's pHARe programme integrates specific actions to prevent bullying and promote a positive school environment;
• Campaigns like Luxembourg's sëcher digital and Portugal's School Without Bullying. School Without Violence aim to raise awareness and provide tools for prevention and intervention. 

Consult the latest BIK Policy monitor report to compare actions and policies to combat cyberbullying across countries, and to analyse progress and developments over the years. 

Campaigns, initiatives and resources from the Insafe network of Safer Internet Centres 

To support national efforts, the European Union co-funds the network of Safer Internet Centres (SICs) which operates across Europe to keep children and young people safe in the digital space. These centres function as a multi-faceted support system, providing guidance and assistance through awareness centres, helplines, hotlines and youth participation services. These facilities are essential to help deal with online risks, such as cyberbullying, and they are also available for parents and caregivers, teachers, educators and other stakeholders. In addition, SICs provide a wealth of content and services tailored to support various target groups - you can access them via the BIK portal resource directory. 

Beyond direct support, the network of Safer Internet Centres is a powerful tool to help identify major trends and pressing concerns in child online safety, which are collected via the helpline data repository. In recent years, cyberbullying has increased and has become harder to detect. In response, SICs have been focusing their efforts to devise new actions to combat cyberbullying, and to ensure that children and young people are more aware and educated about responsible online behaviour.  

Following are a few representative examples of SIC initiatives to combat cyberbullying, but more can be found on SIC national websites and on the BIK platform. 

The Insafe network of SICs addresses cyberbullying as a systemic problem, affecting children and young people’s mental health. Addressing this requires more than just reactive measures; it demands a foundation of emotional support, early digital education, and coherent public policies that treat online safety as a fundamental right. 

As highlighted by UNESCO, addressing cyberbullying requires a coordinated multi-stakeholder effort across the entire digital ecosystem. Legislators, industry leaders, educators, and civil society must work in tandem with parents and young people themselves. By prioritising child safety across all sectors and fostering cross-border collaboration, the European community can build a more resilient and supportive online environment for the next generation (UNESCO (2019), p.7). 

Interested in more?

Explore other relevant research in the Research and reports directory of the BIK Knowledge hub. Together with the BIK Policy monitor, it is updated annually and collates research that informs the implementation of the BIK+ strategy across the EU Member States, Iceland, and Norway.