The European Parliament on 29 April 2026 debated whether existing EU laws—including the Digital Services Act (DSA), AI Act, GDPR, and Audiovisual Media Services Directive—are sufficient to tackle cyberbullying and online harassment, or whether new criminal offences and stronger platform liability are needed. A clear divide emerged between centre-right and liberal groups pushing for EU-wide criminalisation modelled on Ireland's Coco's law, and conservative and far-right groups prioritising enforcement of existing rules. Socialists and Democrats (S&D) backed both approaches, while Greens/EFA warned against quick-fix age-verification bans and called for structural reform of algorithms. Seven motions for resolution were tabled, with a vote scheduled for the next day.
EPP, Renew, and S&D push for new criminal offences
Tomas Tobé (EPP, Sweden) led calls for EU-wide criminalisation of cyberbullying, supported by Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová (Renew, Czechia), Magdalena Adamowicz (EPP, Poland), Maria Walsh (EPP, Ireland), Pablo Arias Echeverría (EPP, Spain), Seán Kelly (EPP, Ireland), Regina Doherty (EPP, Ireland), and Cynthia Ní Mhurchú (Renew, Ireland), who read misogynistic abuse she received to illustrate the need. S&D speakers Marc Angel (Luxembourg), Juan Fernando López Aguilar (Spain), and Pina Picierno (Italy) backed both stronger DSA enforcement and new criminal provisions. Glenn Micallef (Commission) defended the current framework, citing DSA enforcement against TikTok, Grok, and Meta, and a new cyberbullying action plan.
ECR and PfE argue existing laws suffice
Stefano Cavedagna (ECR, Italy), Antonín Staněk (PfE, Czechia), Anna Zalewska (ECR, Poland), and Jadwiga Wiśniewska (ECR, Poland) argued that existing laws are adequate if properly enforced, warning against overregulation. Jaroslav Bžoch (PfE, Czechia) and Francesco Torselli (ECR, Italy) stressed the role of families and schools rather than platform liability.
Greens/EFA and The Left target platform business models
Markéta Gregorová (Greens/EFA, Czechia) and Sergey Lagodinsky (Greens/EFA, Germany) warned against age-verification bans as quick fixes, urging structural reform of algorithms. Katarina Barley (S&D, Germany), Isabel Serra Sánchez (The Left, Spain), Catarina Martins (The Left, Portugal), and Anna Strolenberg (Greens/EFA, Netherlands) argued that platform business models incentivise harm. Kim van Sparrentak (Greens/EFA, Netherlands) blamed EPP and ECR for stalling bans on addictive design.
Age verification and CSAM detection split the house
Age verification divided speakers: Evin Incir (S&D, Sweden), Javier Zarzalejos (EPP, Spain), and Tomislav Sokol (EPP, Croatia) supported it, while Greens/EFA opposed bans. On child sexual abuse material (CSAM), Jeroen Lenaers (EPP, Netherlands) and Zarzalejos pressed for detection powers, but Sebastian Tynkkynen (ECR, Finland) and Nikolaos Anadiotis (NI, Greece) warned against surveillance. Deepfakes and AI-generated abuse were highlighted by Brando Benifei (S&D, Italy) and Nina Carberry (EPP, Ireland).
Stakeholder impact
New criminal offences would increase legal certainty for victims (children, young people, women, LGBTQ+ individuals) but impose compliance costs on platform operators and law enforcement. Stronger enforcement of existing rules would avoid regulatory burden but may leave gaps in protection. Age-verification mandates could protect minors but raise privacy concerns and limit access for legitimate users. The debate reflects a trade-off between security and privacy, and between EU-level harmonisation and national sovereignty.
Next steps
The Parliament will vote on the seven motions for resolution on 30 April 2026, setting the stage for potential legislative proposals from the Commission.