Highlights from Safer Internet Day 2026

Cyberbullying action plan 

On 10 February, the European Commission (EC) adopted the EU Action plan against cyberbullying, aiming to protect children and teenagers online. The action plan is built around three pillars:

1. A coordinated EU approach to protection, making full use of the existing policy and legal instruments, and identifying opportunities to combat cyberbullying as part of future initiatives.
2. Prevention through awareness and empowerment by equipping children, young people, and adults with the skills and confidence to speak about and to recognise online risks, while addressing the underlying attitudes that can lead to harmful behaviour online.
3. Reporting and support: the action plan aims to ensure that everyone, especially victims, bystanders, parents and carers, have clear, trusted, and accessible ways to report abuse and obtain comprehensive help. The Commission will support the implementation of an online safety app across all member states, enabling children and young people to easily report cyberbullying, store and submit evidence, and receive tailored assistance.

Learning corners 

On Safer Internet Day 2026, new learning materials and interactive quizzes were added to the Learning corners of the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) platform:

• The Children and young people’s corner has a new look and includes a new section for young people to see how the European Union is ensuring that they are protected while being online and able to share their voice on matters that are important to them.
• An updated deep dive on cyberbullying in the Parent and caregiver’s corner reflects the latest data and policy developments in the field. In addition, a new quiz is available - test how much you already know about cyberbullying.
• Similarly, in the Teacher and educator’s corner, the updated deep dive on cyberbullying, along with a new quiz, will help teachers and educators support their learners when they are dealing with cyberbullying. 

BIK annual report 

The BIK annual report 2025, also published on SID, summarises the work of the past year, as well as the efforts undertaken by a wide range of stakeholders to tackle persistent harms such as cyberbullying, strengthen protections for minors under the Digital Services Act (DSA), and ensure that children’s voices continue to shape Europe’s digital future. Additionally, an accompanying infographic spotlights last year's youth activities, including the planning, preparation, and delivery of yet another successful Safer Internet Forum (SIF).  Take a look at the SIF highlights video for a recap of the day’s key moments.

SID 2026 - global reach and visibility 

The Safer Internet Day campaign demonstrates that online safety remains a global priority, with strong support from numerous countries, organisations, and communities worldwide. 

SID impact in figures… so far

From the beginning of February until 10 February  the campaign has generated worldwide visibility and engagement across digital platforms. Monitoring has recorded 2,995 total mentions, reaching 15 million users globally, with just over 7 million of that reach generated on 10 February alone. The campaign also drove more than 68,000 social media engagements, and the Safer Internet Day platform has attracted over 17,000 visitors, and 2,500 accesses to the learning materials.

While the overarching theme of SID remains 'Together for a better internet', celebrations so far have focused on various topics, with notable ones being ‘Parental digital safety’ and ‘AI safety education’.

Worldwide celebrations 

This year, SID activities have been recorded in over 180 countries and territories across six continents, with more reports still coming in.

Equally, the Safer Internet Day supporter network has grown by 25% this year, bringing more civil society organisations and industry representatives (see some examples below) into the initiative, with further growth already underway. 

Safer Internet Day mentions

So far, SID 2026 has been marked with a press release from the European Commission - including a feature on the EU Learning corner, and the Digital Skills and Job platform. On social media, posts featuring SID were shared by BetterNet4EU, Champions for the Digital Decade, Council of Europe Children, DG Consumer Affairs, Digital Skills EU, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, EU Code Week, EU Digital & Tech, EU Publication Office, EU Rights, the European Committee of the Regions, European Economic and Social Committee, the European Parliament, European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom Security and Justice (eu-LISA), European Youth Portal, Europol, Eurostat, HaDEA, and IMCO Committee Press, to name just some.

Many other influential supporters also helped spread the word about SID online, such as the 5RightsFoundation, Action Innocence Monaco, the Australian eSafety Commissioner, Catalan Authority on Data Protection, COFACE Families Europe, Discord, ECPAT International, ETwinning Europe, EUKidsOnline, Eurochild, the European Internet Forum, the FBI, German Federal Centre for Child and Youth Media Protection, Google, INHOPE, the International Telecommunication Union, the Internet Watch Foundation, the Interpol Vulnerable Communities sub-directorate, Italian Police, the London School of Economics and Political Science, MacPaw, Mental Health Europe, Microsoft, Microsoft Education, Missing Children Europe, Ombudsman for Children Office Ireland, Orange FR, The Philippines Council for the Welfare of Children, the Pontifical Academy for Life, Save the Children Europe, Snap, Surfshark, the UN Global Programme on Cybercrime, UN Volunteers, UNESCO, UNICEF, United Nations Development Programme, University of Oxford, Video Games Europe, We Protect Global Alliance, Xbox & Minecraft, YouTube, among many others.

Articles about Safer Internet Day were published across media, including the BBC, Belgian Postal Services and Telecommunication Institute, Corriere della sera, Discord blog, Euronews, French Ministry of Education, Google blog, Il Sole 24 Ore, RTE.ie, Save the Children, Sony Interactive Entertainment blog, Tech-ish.com, The Economic Times, Xbox Wire, and the YouTube blog.

What next?

We’ll continue to track the SID celebrations throughout February and compile a fuller report next month. In the meantime, keep checking the Safer Internet Day website for the latest information, where we’ll also be adding articles showcasing the campaign's many successes.

Next year’s day of global focus will fall on Tuesday, 9 February 2027, with events and activities throughout the whole month.

If you have any questions or would like to support SID, please contact us at saferinternetday@betterinternetforkids.eu. 

Visit the Safer Internet Day platform and follow the hashtags #SaferInternetDay and #SID2026.