Boy, 12, with epilepsy says it’s ‘surreal to have my name in the law books’ after he won campaign against trolls who targeted him with flashing images

• Zach Eagling, from Liversedge, welcomed Zach’s Law which is anti-trolling law
• Read More: Social media firms will be forced by law to stamp out abuse 

A 12-year-old boy with epilepsy welcomed an anti-trolling law passed in his name after bullies maliciously sent flashing images to epilepsy sufferers to cause seizures.

Zach Eagling, from Liversedge, West Yorkshire, joined Holly Willoughby and Ben Shephard on This Morning to explain Zach’s Law, which means it is now illegal for trolls to send flashing images to epilepsy sufferers.

Zach, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy following a brain injury at birth and has epilepsy, began campaigning after he was trolled following a charity challenge he undertook during the Covid lockdowns. 

Zach 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.

Zach Eagling, from Liversedge, West Yorkshire, welcomed an anti-trolling law passed in his name after bullies maliciously sent flashing images to epilepsy sufferers to cause seizures

Despite having lots of support from people online Zach’s mother Claire Keer said it took a horrible turn.

Claire said: ‘We were informed by people at the epilepsy society that overnight there was a cyber attack. But we before we woke up they managed to have everything removed, so at that point we didn’t really understand it.

‘But then shortly afterwards my Twitter account started getting attacked with GIFs with strobing images and loads of abuse and comments saying, “Let’s get these shakers moving”.

‘Zach was eight at the time, so you are protective of your children, but when something like that happens it made me significantly more protective and made me want to do something about it.’

Afterwards Claire contacted representatives from the Law Commission, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Epilepsy Society, about the  online abuse. However they weren’t able to do anything as it wasn’t illegal.

Claire said: ‘The Online Safety Bill was in its first stages of being drawn up so it was down to use really to team up with the epilepsy society to make a strong point to protect our children and sufferers of epilepsy.’

Asked how it felt when the law was passed in parliament Zach said: ‘It felt pretty surreal to have my name in the law books.’

Despite having lots of support from people online Zach’s mother Claire Keer (pictured) said it took a horrible turn

Asked how it felt when the law was passed in parliament Zach said: ‘It felt pretty surreal to have my name in the law books’

Zach 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 

What is epilepsy?

Epilepsy is a condition that affects the brain and leaves patients at risk of seizures.

Around one in 100 people in the UK have epilepsy, Epilepsy Society statistics reveal.

And in the US, 1.2 per cent of the population have the condition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Anyone can have a seizure, which does not automatically mean they have epilepsy. 

Usually more than one episode is required before a diagnosis.

Seizures occur when there is a sudden burst of electrical activity in the brain, which causes a disruption to the way it works.

Some seizures cause people to remain alert and aware of their surroundings, while others make people lose consciousness.

Some also make patients experience unusual sensations, feelings or movement, or go stiff and fall to the floor where they jerk.

Epilepsy can be brought on at any age by a stroke, brain infection, head injury or problems at birth that lead to lack of oxygen.

But in more than half of cases, a cause is never found.

Anti-epileptic drugs do not cure the condition but help to stop or reduce seizures. 

If these do not work, brain surgery can be effective.

Source: Epilepsy Action

Claire said the law hasn’t deterred trolls yet, but now at least they can report the messages to the police because it is against the law. 

Clare Pelham, chief executive at the Epilepsy Society, told the BBC News on Thursday: ‘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.’

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