2026 Barometer: one in three children faces bullying; new risks linked to AI and digital spaces
Guardii Analysis
The e-Enfance Association and George(s) Institute released the sixth annual barometer on youth bullying and cyberbullying in France, surveying children aged six to eighteen. The research found that 29 percent of young people experienced bullying in 2026, while 12 percent reported cyberbullying, with nearly one in three victims of cyberbullying targeted by humiliating content generated by artificial intelligence, particularly deepfakes. Social media, online gaming platforms and class discussion groups emerged as primary arenas for insults, exclusion and coercion.
AI-driven anti-cyberbullying detection addresses precisely the pattern documented in the French research: escalating hostility and the weaponisation of synthetic media against children. Guardii operates across the platforms named in the barometer, including gaming environments and messaging channels, using behavioural analysis rather than blanket content review to identify sustained targeting and humiliation campaigns before they inflict lasting psychological harm. Its anti-cyberbullying module flags not isolated remarks but the sequential intensification that transforms disagreement into abuse, surfacing a child in acute distress to a parent or school safeguarding lead while the intervention window remains open.