A report by Najat M’jid, special representative of the UN secretary-general on violence against children, shows that around two-thirds of children worldwide report an increase in cyberbullying.

Ms M’jid said that cyberbullying was increasing, with AI being a key driver of harm.

The report highlights “alarming trends” and “the urgent need for the entire online ecosystem to act faster and together to protect children”.

The findings come amid increasing threats to children, including growing conflicts, displacement, poverty, and levels of violence.

“We meet today once again in a challenging world, where children are paying the highest price,” Ms M’jid said.

With responses from over 30,000 children across every region, the report emphasised the widespread impact of AI in “fundamentally transforming the threat” facing children online.

She said the rapid advancement and accessibility of generative AI were reshaping cyberbullying, making it faster, more targeted, harder to detect, and capable of spreading across multiple platforms at a massive scale.

In the current climate, which enables AI-generated deepfake photos and videos and the manipulation of children through chatbots and other tools, children often over-trust and cannot distinguish real human interaction from manipulation.

AI deepfakes “are increasingly used to humiliate, threaten and exploit children online”, the statement released from Ms M’jid’s office said on Tuesday.

According to the findings, children find it challenging to report cyberbullying because they face stigma and fear being rejected by their peers or judged by adults.

The impact of not reporting can be immediate and devastating, causing psychological distress and lasting reputational harm in just a matter of seconds.

In the most tragic cases, it can drive children to take their own lives.

Ms M’jid stressed the need to involve all stakeholders in the child online protection ecosystem as the only way to protect children from online harm while enabling safe digital participation.

(NAN)