Von der Leyen vows to tackle social media addiction and cyberbullying of children

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen vowed to fight both cyberbullying and addictive design in a speech to the European Parliament ahead of her confirmation vote on Thursday (18 July).

Von der Leyen has had to tread a fine line between political parties as she sought – and won – a second term as Commission president on Thursday.

In the weeks since her nomination, she has been courting parties from left to right, trying to create a delicate coalition. Her strategy proved successful as she was re-elected on Thursday afternoon with 401 votes in favour and 288 against.

Her promises on social media policy echoed this strategy as well.

MEPs from the Greens and the liberal Renew Europe initiated a resolution calling for an addictive design policy, adopted in December 2023, while the centre-right European People’s Party, von der Leyen’s political family, called for measures to curb cyberbullying in late June draft priorities seen by Euractiv.

Cyberbullying

“We will convene the first-ever European-wide enquiry on the impact of social media on the wellbeing of young people,” von der Leyen stated in her speech.

“My heart bleeds when I read about young people harming themselves or even taking their lives because of online abuse,” she told MEPs.

The EPP called for the launch of an EU action plan against cyberbullying and online child abuse in its draft priorities.

“Cyberbullying must be considered a criminal offence throughout Europe and a common definition covering all relevant forms of cyber violence must be implemented,” the text said.

In a document on priorities for the next Commission, von der Leyen called for such an action plan.

Addictive design

“Social media, and excessive screen time and addictive practices, have played their part” in children’s mental health, Von der Leyen said in her speech, promising to “take action against the addictive design of some platforms”.

The Socialists & Democrats (S&D) also called for legislation on addictive design in their priorities for the next Parliament, according to a draft seen by Euractiv.

Renew also “called for a new legislation addressing social media risks for youth” in its manifesto, saying that social media expose children to harmful content, which can lead to increased aggression, unhealthy eating habits, and body image dissatisfaction.

“I look forward to seeing the measures announced by Ursula von der Leyen and I will pursue my work to make sure that TikTok does not become a new addiction as cigarettes,” French MEP Stephanie Yon-Courtin (Renew) told Euractiv. She was one of the shadow rapporteurs for 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, signalling intentions to suspend the app’s reward programme, which the company “voluntarily” suspended just days after.

Among other things, the EU executive voiced concerns about the app’s addictive effects, especially for children, due to the potential absence of effective age verification mechanisms.

[Edited by Eliza Gkritsi/Zoran Radosavljevic]

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