EU Parliament backs ‘Coco’s Law’ against cyberbullying, pushed by Fine Gael MEPs

The European Parliament’s vote in favour of criminalising online bullying and harassment has been welcomed by Fine Gael MEPs Seán Kelly, Regina Doherty, Maria Walsh and Nina Carberry who co-signed the parliamentary resolution that adopted in Strasbourg on Thursday.

The MEPs said that an EU-wide ‘Coco’s Law’, inspired by the Irish example, should now be put into place across Europe.

“Cyberbullying has become a scourge across Europe with one in six children having already experienced some form of online abuse or harassment. The trauma of such online attacks has resulted in very tragic consequences. It is unacceptable to us that legal gaps enable this behaviour online. That’s why we are pushing the EU to act and harmonise law, in order to stop it. Today, the European Parliament backed our call and voted to protect children and young people online”, said Seán Kelly MEP.

“After today’s resounding vote, there’s no time to waste on the next steps” according to Dublin MEP Regina Doherty.

“The Commission must urgently progress an EU-wide Coco’s Law, modelled on the Irish law named after the late Nicole ‘Coco’ Fox. Nicole tragically died by suicide in 2018, after suffering years of horrendous bullying – online and offline. Her mother, Jackie Fox, has shown enormous strength and determination in campaigning to achieve the law in Ireland and most recently at EU level. We have been honoured to support her work to make Coco’s Law a European Law and today is a significant step forward towards that goal.”

The Resolution also asks the Commission to take swift action to address current legal gaps concerning the voluntary reporting mechanisms carried out by online platforms of child sexual abuse material. It underlines that online platforms have an obligation to ensure a safe digital space for children that respects their fundamental rights and data privacy.

Maria Walsh MEP has repeatedly warned of the dangers posed by digital harms, of which young women and girls are overwhelmingly the victims.

“Suicide is the second leading cause of death amongst young people in the EU. That is a heartbreaking, shocking fact. There is a huge amount of work on improving mental health awareness and supports that we need to do as lawmakers across Europe, particularly for minors. However, enabling authorities to prevent and prosecute torment and abuse of people online is an essential part of this work”, MEP Walsh said.

For Nina Carberry MEP, the vote signals “strong support” for victims of bullying.

“Today, the European Parliament stands with young people, with victims of cyberbullying and online abuse. We are saying that this type of behaviour is criminal and should be recognised as such in all EU Member States. We are supporting parents who are worried about this. While we need to equip children with the knowledge and wisdom to use online platforms responsibility and safely, we also need to support law enforcement to be able to act to protect our youngsters or anyone who is being targeted online. What is illegal offline should be illegal online”, said MEP Carberry.