One in three children has been bullied online, and one in three of these bullied children never reports it due to fear or shame.

Omissions

• The EU figure comes from a non-representative online consultation conducted through the EU Children's Participation Platform (self-selected participants), not a statistical survey; the full report notes 31% of respondents had never seen or experienced cyberbullying and 16% were unsure.
• Representative surveys (e.g., WHO HBSC data, cited by the European Commission) report lower rates of cyberbullying victimization among EU adolescents (about 1 in 6), so '1 in 3' reflects the higher-end, consultation-based estimate.
• UNICEF's 'one in three' figure covers 30 countries (not exclusively Europe) and dates from 2019, so it is not strictly current EU data.
• The second part of the claim ('never report it out of fear or of shame') is not directly measured: the EU consultation found 62% would turn to a parent or carer for help (i.e., ~38% would not), and the 'fear or shame' motivation was not the stated reason in the data found.
• The sources supporting the claim were published after the claimed figure's most common origin (UNICEF 2019), but the EU consultation (Nov 2025) is recent and available to the MEP before the 2026-07-07 session.

Sources

• PrimaryEU for Children — European Commission (Children's Voices on Cyberbullying)24% had experienced cyberbullying themselves; 39% had seen cyberbullying (47% of 17-year-olds, 28% of 12-year-olds); 50% knew of someone treated badly online.
• PrimaryEuropean Commission — Learning Corner (Children's views on how to prevent cyberbullying)29% reported having experienced cyberbullying themselves and 39% having seen it happen to others; 62% would turn to a parent or carer for help.
• PrimaryUNICEF Europe and Central Asia — press releaseOne in three young people in 30 countries said they have been a victim of online bullying, with one in five reporting having skipped school because of it (U-Report poll, 4 September 2019).
• AcademicMDPI Social Sciences — The European Union's Response to Bullying and Violence in Schoolone in three students aged 11 to 15 in the European Union has experienced some form of bullying or violence in school over the past year (school-based bullying, distinct from online bullying).