Von der Leyen pledged to fight cyberbullying and social media addiction

The plenum of the European Parliament in Strasbourg re-elected Ursula von der Leyen to the position of President of the European Commission. In the secret ballot, the conservative German politician obtained 401 yes votes, 284 voted no, and 15 abstained. His re-election required an absolute majority of the 720-member body, i.e. the votes of at least 361 representatives.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, in her speech in the European Parliament before the confirmation vote, pledged to fight against cyberbullying and addictive design. Von der Leyen had to navigate the fine line between political parties when she ran for her second mandate as Commission President. In the weeks since his appointment, he has courted parties from the left to the right, trying to form a delicate coalition. His strategy proved successful as he was re-elected on Thursday afternoon with 401 yes votes and 288 no votes.

His promises on social media policy also reflected this strategy. MEPs from the Greens and the liberal Renew Europe initiated a resolution adopted in December 2023 calling for legislation on addictive design, while the centre-right European People’s Party – von der Leyen’s political family – called for the launch of an EU action plan against cyberbullying and online child abuse. . “Cyberbullying should be considered a crime across Europe, and a common definition covering all relevant forms of cyberviolence should be applied,” the text says.

“We are convening the very first European-level investigation into the impact of social media on the well-being of young people,” von der Leyen said in her speech. “My heart bleeds when I read about young people harming themselves or even taking their own lives because of online abuse,” she said. to the MEPs. In a document on the next Commission’s priorities, von der Leyen called for such an action plan. “Social media and excessive screen time and addictive practices play a role” in children’s mental health, Von der Leyen said in her speech, pledging to “act against the addictive design of some platforms”.

The Socialists and Democrats (S&D) also called for the creation of legislation related to addictive design among the priorities of the next parliamentary cycle. Renew also called for “new legislation to address the risks of social media to young people”, saying that social media exposes children to harmful content that can lead to increased aggression, unhealthy eating habits and body image dissatisfaction. “I look forward to the measures announced by Ursula von der Leyen and I will continue my work to ensure that TikTok does not become a new addiction like cigarettes,” said French MEP Stephanie Yon-Courtin (Renew). She was one of the speakers at the to the 2023 Resolution on Addictive Design.

In April, the European Commission initiated formal proceedings against TikTok under the Digital Services Act (DSA) upon the launch of TikTok Lite, signaling its intention to suspend the app’s rewards program, which the company “voluntarily” suspended a few days later. Among other things, the EU executive expressed concern about the app’s addictive effect, especially for children, as effective age verification mechanisms are still lacking.