Zach's Law: West Yorkshire boy hails victory over online trolls

Zach Eagling is celebrating that Zach's Law is now official and trolls could face prison

A 12-year-old boy with epilepsy has welcomed an anti-trolling law passed after bullies targeted his condition.

Zach Eagling, from Liversedge, is "over the moon" now Zach's Law means it is illegal for trolls to maliciously send flashing images to epilepsy sufferers.

He began campaigning after he was targeted during a charity challenge he undertook during Covid.

Zach's mother Claire Keer said: "Zach was deeply upset at the online trolling and was determined to make it stop."

The new law is part of the government's Online Safety Bill and became official on Wednesday.

Zach, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy following a brain injury at birth and has epilepsy, wanted to follow in the footsteps of Captain Sir Tom Moore and walked 1.6 miles around his garden without his frame during the 2020 lockdown.

He raised £20,000 for the Epilepsy Society but during the challenge Zach and the charity's social media pages were flooded with flashing images and GIFs designed to cause seizures.

Claire Keer and her son Zach have been campaigning since trolls tried to jeopardise his lockdown charity challenge

Afterwards his mother contacted representatives from the Law Commission, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Epilepsy Society, saying the online abuse was "absolutely revolting" and had caused emotional distress.

Ms Keer and Zach campaigned for trolls to be "held accountable for their actions" by including Zach's Law in the Online Harms Bill.

Clare Pelham, chief executive at the Epilepsy Society, said: "This is an historic day for everyone with epilepsy.

"The trolls were operating beyond the reach of the law because the law, written in the time of typewriters and printer's ink, had not kept pace with the digital world.

"It is life-affirming today to be celebrating this new law - Zach's Law - which means the trolling of anyone with epilepsy deliberately to cause seizures is now a criminal offence carrying a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment."

She said Zach was a "super star" for helping to fight these "stealthy criminals".