Lawmakers from the European People’s Party (EPP) caused a stir at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) summit on Friday morning, as observers expect them to form an influential block in discussions over cybersecurity in the coming days.
During Friday morning’s session, representatives of the center-right EPP from Finland, Poland, and Ukraine joined together in a protest to protect childrens’ security in online spaces. Disrupting the general discussion, they let “#protectthekids” appear on their screens for other national parliamentary members to see.
The EPP representative of Finland opened his speech by referring to the popular online hashtag, advocating for a joint action-plan against cyberbullying.
The motion earned support specifically from fellow party members. Poland advocated for programmes to raise awareness in schools, and the Ukrainian representative emphasized the importance of tackling the issue by declaring “cyberbullying, it kills.”
Other parliament members ignored the protest and remained silent on the issue, instead redirecting the focus to problems of sovereignty and privacy.
The PACE summit will continue in the days ahead with the general aim of formulating international guidelines against threats of cybersecurity. The main agenda is set around guarding human rights and privacy of the individual. Analysts expect the EPP representatives to remain an influential block in shaping the discussion in the coming days.
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