Changes from resolution motion to resolution motion joint

Change 4

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Criminal law

Change 5

Removed10. Notes that the cyberbullying action plan does not set out measures in the field of criminal law at EU level;

Added5. Expresses concern that despite the legislative and policy measures taken at EU and national level, cyberbullying and image- or video-based abuse are continuing to increase across the EU, indicating that existing instruments, including obligations under the DSA and harmonisation under the directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, may not be sufficient to address the full scale and severity of the problem;

Removed11. Takes note of the various laws in Member States that address cyberbullying, even though the term ‘cyberbullying’ often does not appear in those laws;

Added6. Notes that the action plan against cyberbullying does not provide for measures in the field of criminal law at EU level;

Removed12. Takes note of the measures in several Member States to address cyberbullying in their criminal codes, such as:

Added7. Invites the Commission to assess the need for a more harmonised approach at EU level to define cyberbullying; invites the Commission to examine whether cyberbullying, including the non-consensual dissemination of intimate material, should be recognised as a particularly serious crime with a cross-border dimension at EU level; reiterates its support for adding hate crime, which could cover the most severe forms of cyberbullying, to the list of EU crimes under Article 83(1) TFEU;

Removeda. Ireland’s Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 (‘Coco’s Law’); notes that the Act provides for two offences, namely the non-consensual recording, distribution or publication of intimate images (so-called revenge porn), and the distribution, publication or sending of threatening or grossly offensive communications or messages with the intent to cause harm;

Added8. Highlights that well-resourced law enforcement authorities, including adequate staffing, technical expertise and IT infrastructure, are an indispensable part of effectively tackling cyberbullying; invites the Commission and Europol to increase the investigative capacities of Member States, including for combating cross-border cyberbullying;

Removedb. France’s legislation dealing with cases of ‘revenge porn’, as provided for in Articles 226-1 and 226-2 of the Penal Code;

Added9. Invites the Member States to share best practice on their legal approaches; emphasises that efforts should prioritise prevention, education and awareness-raising measures targeting children, parents and educators, as well as digital literacy and restorative approaches, particularly when minors are involved;

Removedc. Austria’s amendment of its Criminal Code of January 2016, which under Article 107c entitled ‘Continuous harassment by means of telecommunications or a computer system’, introduced cyberbullying as a punishable offence;

Added10. Calls for the swift implementation and transposition of the revised Victims’ Rights Directive;

Removedd. Romania’s Law no 106/2020, amending and supplementing Law no 217/2003 on preventing and combating domestic violence, which introduces the concept of ‘cyber violence’ within the sphere of ‘domestic violence’; notes that it covers ‘any (...) form of misuse of information and communication technology (...) in order to shame, humiliate, scare, threaten or silence the victim’;

AddedOnline platforms and the DSA

Removede. Slovakia’s amendment of 27 May 2021 to the Criminal Code, which defines ‘dangerous online bullying’ as conduct aimed at damaging the identity of the person in question;

Added11. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that platforms are held accountable to prevent and counter cyberbullying;

Removed13. Takes note of other Member States where there is no special criminal offence of ‘cyberbullying’, but where measures were taken under civil or other laws, including education codes;

Added12. Points out that the business model of certain online platforms incentivises the spread of hateful content and therefore contributes to an increasingly unsafe online environment, particularly for minors, women and members of the LGBTIQ+ community or other minorities; highlights the role of hyper-personalised recommender systems that push hate speech and down-rank less divisive content;

Removed14. Takes note of these different approaches in Member States; invites those Member States to share best practices and experience regarding their legal approaches;

Added13. Underlines that the DSA addresses some aspects of harassment and cyberbullying, in particular Article 28 thereof, which already obliges providers to ensure a high level of privacy, safety and security for minors; highlights, in this regard, the Commission guidelines under the DSA, which specify how platforms can ensure that minors are safe when using their services; notes that very large online platforms have, to a considerable extent, failed to implement these measures; calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up enforcement of Article 28 DSA and of the notice and action provision of the DSA, which impacts the protection of victims of cyberbullying;

Removed15. Highlights that, complementary to appropriate legislation, well-resourced law enforcement authorities, including adequate staffing, technical expertise and IT infrastructure, are an indispensable part of effectively tackling cyberbullying; invites the Commission and Europol to undertake necessary measures to increase the investigative capacities of Member States in this regard, including in combating cross-border cyberbullying;

Added14. Calls on the Commission to conclude pending enforcement cases, open investigations into any violations of Article 28 DSA, including systemic risks posed by recommender systems, and rigorously enforce the notice and takedown obligation of platforms; strongly rejects any attempts to reopen the DSA; points out that access for researchers under the DSA is crucial to ensure evidence-based lawmaking;

Removed16. Asks the Commission to follow up on its announcement to consider a legislative initiative for a more harmonised approach; reiterates its support for adding hate crime and hate speech to the list of EU crimes under Article 83(1) TFEU, which could cover the most severe forms of cyberbullying;

Added15. Calls on the Commission to follow up on its announced guidelines for trusted flaggers on cyberbullying, in order to clarify their role in tackling illegal content;

RemovedOnline platforms and the Digital Services Act

Added16. Regrets the current lack of a legal framework to allow for the detection of child sexual abuse material online and calls on the Commission to take swift action to ensure that voluntary reporting mechanisms of child sexual abuse material are put in place; underlines the obligations of platforms to ensure a safe digital space for children that respects their fundamental rights and data privacy for every user;

Removed17. Points out that the business model of online platforms incentivises the spread of hateful content and therefore contributes to an increasingly unsafe environment online, in particular for minors, women, members of the LGBTIQ+ community and other minorities; highlights the role of hyper-personalised recommender systems that push hate speech and down-rank less divisive content;

Removed18. Underlines that the DSA, specifically the guidelines on Article 28, address many measures to counter harassment and cyberbullying such as the adaptation of recommender systems, effective 24/7 moderation, the prioritisation of content reports concerning minors, and measures that shield users from content, such as the requirement of consent before being added to a group or the option to restrict comments;

Removed19. Welcomes the recommendation in the guidelines for platforms to refer users to national support lines and display warning messages;

Removed20. Calls on the Commission to reinforce platforms obligations, including an obligation for platforms to include educational content on digital empathy and digital literacy at regular intervals;

Removed21. Notes that there is an enforcement deficit of Article 28 of the DSA and the notice-and-takedown obligation of platforms, which impacts the protection of victims of cyberbullying;

Removed22. Calls for the rigorous enforcement of Article 28 of the DSA and the notice-and-takedown obligation of platforms; calls on the Commission to open further investigations into systemic risks posed by recommender systems, particularly in relation to gender-based violence, harm to minors and discrimination;

Removed23. Points out that access for researchers to platform data under the DSA is crucial to ensure evidence-based lawmaking; laments that issues persist and need to be urgently brought into compliance;

Removed24. Is concerned that the recently announced ‘dialogue’ on the enforcement of digital legislation as part of the trade negotiations with the Trump administration may put rigorous and independent enforcement action at risk and lower the protection afforded under the DSA and the Digital Markets Act; highlights that this may also impact the protection of victims of cyberbullying; calls on the Commission to urgently clarify that the enforcement of digital laws is not subject to trade-offs for lower tariffs or other trade benefits;

Removed25. Recalls that, according to case-law of the European Convention on Human Rights, the sanctioning or even prevention of all forms of expression that spread, incite, promote or justify hatred does not constitute a violation of freedom of expression, provided that those measures are proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued;

Other measures

Change 6

Removed26. Recalls that the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive contains certain obligations on video-sharing platforms to protect minors from harmful content and all users from content inciting violence or hatred; calls on the Commission to monitor the implementation of the directive by the Member States, especially in this regard;

Added17. Expresses concern about the growing use of AI for abusive purposes, including generating deepfakes, voice cloning and non-consensual intimate content; reiterates the need to ban ‘nudifier applications’ under the AI Act as part of the AI omnibus negotiations; calls on providers to comply, without delay, with Article 50 of the AI Act on transparency and watermarking, so as to ensure that AI-generated content is clearly labelled to mitigate the harmful impact of deepfakes, most notably on minors;

Removed27. Recalls, in this regard, the need to strengthen the protection of victims and invest in psychological and legal assistance for victims of harassment and cyberbullying; is concerned that victims organisations are increasingly under threat due to a lack of funding or attacks from non-EU countries, as recent cases involving the Trump administration highlight; calls for the swift implementation and transposition of the revised Victims’ Rights Directive;

Added18. Calls on the Commission to assess whether existing risk assessment and mitigation obligations under EU law adequately cover online gaming operators, in particular those offering real-time communication features that may expose minors to cyberbullying;

Removed28. Expresses concern about the growing use of AI for abusive purposes, including the generation of deepfake content, voice cloning, impersonation and non-consensual intimate content in digital environments, which can facilitate coordinated harassment, identity theft, reputational damage and psychological harm;

Added19. Recalls the obligations under the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive to protect minors from illegal and harmful content and all users from content inciting violence or hatred; calls on the Commission to monitor the implementation of this directive by the Member States;

Removed29. Welcomes the efforts of Parliament and the Council to ban ‘nudifier applications’ under the Artificial Intelligence Act as part of the Digital Omnibus on AI negotiations;

Added20. Recalls the need to strengthen protection of and support for victims of cyberbullying; is concerned that victims’ organisations are increasingly under threat owing to a lack of funding; calls for increased and sustainable EU funding for civil society organisations, helplines and victim support services, and for the integration of cyberbullying prevention and response measures into national mental health strategies, with particular attention to minors and other vulnerable groups;

Removed30. Calls for the integration of cyberbullying prevention and response measures into national mental health strategies, including accessible psychological support services for victims, with particular attention to minors and other vulnerable groups;

Added°

Removed31. Calls for increased and sustainable EU funding for civil society organisations, including helplines, victim support services and awareness-raising initiatives, which play a key role in addressing cyberbullying and supporting victims across the Member States;

Added° °

Removed32. Calls on the Commission to further develop user-friendly and accessible reporting mechanisms, including a possible EU-wide interface, ensuring that victims of cyberbullying can easily report harmful content and receive timely support;

Added21. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

Removed33. Instructs it President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.