Yesterday, the EU Parliament voted to extend the exemption to privacy rules to let tech companies scan your message for CSAM. This might seem like a bad news, but details matter here.
Now only allowed for scanning known CSAM material, to reduce false positives.
Grooming detection not allowed
Reduced to individuals for whom there is a “reasonable grounds of suspicion for a link, even an indirect one, with CSAM”, as determined by the relevant judicial authority
Not concerning encrypted communication (including content ‘about to be encrypted’, so no client-side scanning)
Analysing CSAM reported by the user is also allowed.
Those exemptions to Privacy regulations will last until August 2027. All of this still need to be approved by the Council. They can also modify it and send it back to the Parliament.
Scanning media on unencrypted platforms for individuals courts judge are suspects is far different from the original bill. Hence Chat Control 1.0 was defeated, it’s defining aspect (mass surveillance) was removed
Oh, I agree with you that current outcome (modified bill with increased restrictions on its use) is certainly significantly better then the unmodified bill would’ve been (with much less restrictions).
But to me “the win” (i.e. “chatcontrol 1.0 beingdefeated“) would’ve been if it has not been extended in few more weeks, so that this particular “temporary exception of chatcontrol 1.0” would’ve been completely abolished on April 6, 2026.
Its extension and thus continued existence, even in modified form, will surely be used as a fuel to reduce users privacy by ChatControl 2.0 et.al., and also be used as a precedent that words such as “temporary measures” (even ones with explicit expiration dates) are not worth the paper they’re printed on, as they have just the same meaning as “permanent measures”.
I am writing to urge you to oppose the mass scanning of our private messages at the provider’s discretion (“Chat Control 1.0” Regulation (EU) 2021/1232) during next Wednesday’s plenary vote. To end the derogation from our fundamental right to privacy online, please
first, support the LIBE Committee’s rejection of the “Chat Control 1.0” extension (SIPPEL report A10-0040/2026);
if that initial rejection fails, I urge you to vote AGAINST the final amended text, regardless of what mass-scanning technologies are included.
I disagree that this would serve as ‘fuel’. If this scoped measure shows more effective than a blanket scan, this would be the opposite.
And I don’t understand how temporary==permanent, the Commission wanted the text to have no expiry, proving that it doesn’t like expiry date.
I guess the title could have been framed better, I agree.