European lawmakers have voted to allow tech giants to voluntarily scan users' private messages for child sexual abuse material, even though a majority of them voted against the proposal.
This move effectively reinstates permissions for major tech companies like Meta, Google, and Microsoft to inspect private texts, emails, and social media chats. Critics have dubbed the legislation "Chat Control." While end-to-end encrypted communications, such as those used by WhatsApp and Signal, will remain exempt, the implications for digital privacy are significant.
"This means that private companies could deny your right to have confidential digital conversations," warned Simeon de Brouwer, a policy advisor at European Digital Rights, a Brussels-based advocacy group. "They could, if they want to, read every message you write, every email you send, every picture you share."
The European People's Party (EPP), the largest political faction in the European Parliament, has been pushing to restore the legal basis for tech firms to scan messages since an earlier law expired in April. They argue that companies' voluntary detection efforts have been crucial in identifying and rescuing victims of online child sexual abuse, and that blocking these measures leaves children vulnerable. The party aimed to pass this legislation before the parliament's summer break.
However, privacy advocates and other political parties have fiercely opposed the measure. The EPP utilized a procedural tactic to force new votes after negotiations broke down in March. This "urgent procedure" bypasses standard committee debates where amendments are typically introduced and requires an absolute majority of 361 votes against the regulation for it to fail. Although more lawmakers voted against the rule on Thursday than for it, they were 47 votes short of the required majority.
Tech companies will now retain the right to scan messages for child sexual abuse detection until 2028, or until a more permanent piece of legislation, also referred to as "Chat Control" by critics, is finalized. Civil rights activist Patrick Breyer criticized the ruling as a "farce" that "damages democracy," stating, "Our children are the real losers in this undemocratic process." He likened blanket chat control to "suspicionless mass surveillance," comparing it to "frantically mopping the floor while the faucet is still running" and finding indiscriminately opening physical mail equally unacceptable.
