{"id":8653,"date":"2026-07-22T11:27:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T09:27:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/?post_type=hbi-news&p=8653"},"modified":"2026-07-23T18:00:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T16:00:40","slug":"eu-extends-voluntary-chat-control","status":"publish","type":"hbi-news","link":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-news\/news\/eu-extends-voluntary-chat-control\/","title":{"rendered":"EU Extends Voluntary Chat Control"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is chat control an effective means of protecting children? The Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, and the European Commission have been discussing a permanent regulation for years. The European Parliament has now approved an extension of the voluntary Chat Control 1.0 program during its second reading. This effectively puts Chat Control 1.0, which expired in April 2026, back in force. Platforms are now allowed to scan messages for known images and videos of child sexual abuse without cause. They may also analyze text to detect intentions to commit abuse. Illegal content must be removed and reported. However, end-to-end encrypted chats and audio communications are exempt from these requirements.<\/p>\n

The Science Media Center Germany asked experts for their views on the parliamentary process and the use of chat control. Below is a statement by Dr. Stephan Dreyer<\/a>, originally published on July 9, 2026, on the Science Media Center\u2019s website<\/a>. He explains why he considers the expedited parliamentary process to be legally controversial and why chat control significantly infringes on privacy rights.<\/p>\n

Assessment of the Urgency Procedure<\/h2>\n

Formally, this procedure falls within the legislative process outlined in Article 294 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (EU)<\/a>. At the second reading, the Council’s position is considered adopted unless the Parliament rejects it by an absolute majority. However, the manner in which the unamended proposal was reintroduced is bound to raise a few eyebrows among parliamentarians. The Parliament rejected it at the first reading, yet it has now been reintroduced at the second reading unchanged but under an expedited procedure shortly before the summer recess. Such a course of action is not customary.\u201d<\/p>\n

What suffers most from this rush is the quality of the process. Checks and balances could be bypassed as a result. These include, for example, an opinion from the EU Data Protection Supervisor, as well as important committee deliberations, hearings, and a fundamental rights impact assessment. Throughout the process, the EU Data Protection Supervisor has made it clear that it views the renewed exemption from the ePrivacy Directive<\/a> with extreme skepticism.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Since an absolute majority of opponents was not reached today, the Member States must now vote in favor of the proposal in the European Council. In parallel with and independent of today\u2019s vote, trilogue negotiations on the CSA Regulation<\/a> are ongoing and will repeatedly address a permanent and mandatory ‘Chat Control 2.0.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Consequences of Extending Voluntary Chat Control<\/h2>\n

“For most online users, there will be few visible changes in their daily lives. The adopted regulation, which exempted voluntary message scanning by platform providers from the ePrivacy Directive from 2021 to April 2026, applies to unencrypted communications, such as email, direct messages, and cloud storage files. However, the content of communications on end-to-end encrypted services, such as Signal, remains unaffected.\u201d<\/p>\n

“For end users, comprehensive scans of message content and stored files are virtually unnoticeable. However, the error-prone nature of the detection systems remains a concern. In the worst-case scenario, false positives can result in private images ending up with reporting agencies.\u201d<\/p>\n

“This decision has far-reaching implications for fundamental rights. It allows platform providers to once again conduct unsolicited, automated searches of private content. Regardless of how justified or necessary this approach may be considered, systematically screening messages and files always infringes upon the confidentiality of communication and the right to data protection.\u201d<\/p>\n

“However, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has so far only accepted forms of state-sponsored mass surveillance under strict conditions. In this regard, the fact that ‘Chat Control 1.0’ legally permits private providers to do something that state actors likely could not do is problematic.”<\/p>\n

Legal Certainty Through the Extension of Chat Control<\/p>\n

“This decision is indeed relevant for providers. Since the regulation expired in early April, most platform providers have continued to scan data without a clear exemption under European law. They are thus operating in a gray area of data protection law that poses significant liability risks for them. Providers are seeking a reliable legal basis in this regard.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Today’s vote does not mean that mandatory ‘Chat Control 2.0’ is off the table. The CSA Regulation is currently under negotiation in the trilogue process. Discussions will resume after the summer recess.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Significance of Chat Controls<\/h2>\n

“We know that mass scanning of private communications and cloud storage can identify a large number of images depicting abuse. This approach seems effective and reasonable for removing such material and taking action against the perpetrators. However, from a legal perspective, it raises fundamental concerns regarding proportionality because it requires scrutiny of all citizens\u2019 private communications.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Effective child protection does not automatically take precedence over the confidentiality of communications. In this regard, a comprehensive balancing of conflicting legal positions must be carried out. A less intrusive approach could entail issuing targeted disclosure orders in cases of concrete suspicion, deleting clearly identifiable material, and better equipping investigative authorities in this area. The more targeted the investigative tool, the more justified the intrusion into suspects\u2019 privacy, right to data protection, and confidential communications appears to be.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":8246,"template":"","categories":[145],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8653","hbi-news","type-hbi-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEU Extends Voluntary Chat Control - Leibniz Institut f\u00fcr Medienforschung | Leibniz Institute for Media Research<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-news\/news\/eu-extends-voluntary-chat-control\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EU Extends Voluntary Chat Control\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Is chat control an effective means of protecting children? 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