The European Parliament has formally backed a campaign to introduce the Irish anti-cyber bullying Coco's Law across the EU.
MEPs voted by a show of hands to support the campaign in Strasbourg this afternoon, saying it is needed to protect young people from online abuse.
Coco's Law - officially called the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act - was introduced in Ireland in 2020 in response to the tragic death by suicide of 21-year-old Nicole 'Coco' Fox in 2018 after a sustained cyberbullying campaign against her.
In the intervening years the law has helped protect other young people, while Coco's mother Jackie has campaigned for it to be replicated in other countries.
After listening to Jackie's concerns at last month's European Parliament session in Strasbourg, this week Swedish European People's Party MEP Tomas Tobe tabled a resolution for the law to be adopted across the EU.
That resolution was backed by MEPs today, meaning the request will now be formally sent to the European Commission which is the body responsible for formally proposing legislation.
The planned EU-wide law aims to criminalise online bullying, as well as defining the offence in the same way across all EU member states, including carrying the same penalties.
Irish MEPs, all of whom met Jackie last month, support the campaign, as well as a majority of MEPs across the EU.
However, a number of right-wing parties oppose it, arguing the law would impact on free speech and limit online debate among adults.
