Messaging apps are wary of an EU proposal to scan private conversations to stamp out images of child sexual abuse.
Does protecting children justify snooping on private messages? This is a sensitive issue facing EU countries as they debate on Wednesday how to step up the fight against child sexual abuse content online.
The meeting in Brussels could decide the fate of the legislative initiative, which has sparked intense debate since it was proposed by the European Commission in May 2022.
The proposal, backed by several child protection groups, would require online platforms and messaging services to detect and report images and videos of abuse and attempts by predators to contact minors.
But critics, including EU data protection authorities, lawmakers and countries such as Germany, have warned it poses an “unwarranted” threat to privacy.
They are especially wary of the use of technology that scans private conversations, including encrypted apps like Signal and WhatsApp.
“This will end the secrecy of communications, which is essential for whistleblowers,” German activist and former EU lawmaker Patrick Breyer told AFP.
His big fear? Such laws could ultimately be misused by authoritarian regimes to “repress political opponents” by monitoring their conversations.
The messaging platform itself is firmly opposed to the plan.
Mass surveillance?
Opponents have been bombarding EU officials with messages aimed at swaying the debate as part of a campaign dubbed “Stop Chat Control,” which is the nickname for the proposal.
“I have not seen anything like that in other files,” one EU diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity. “We receive thousands of emails every day.”
Denmark, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency and drafted the latest version of the proposal, insists it includes the necessary safeguards.
First, only images and links are scanned, not text messages.
Second, the system would only be triggered on the basis of a decision by an independent judicial or administrative authority.
European Commission spokesman Markus Lammert said: “We need to be clear: under this proposal there will be no general monitoring of online communications. There is no such thing as ‘chat control’.”
“This is to protect children from the increasingly horrific crimes that are occurring online.”
Germany holds the key
A report by the UK-based Internet Watch Foundation found that 62% of child sexual abuse material identified internationally last year was hosted on servers within the EU.
The bloc’s current rules require platforms to detect such content on a voluntary basis, but the city of Brussels believes this is insufficient given the scale and rapid growth of the problem.
The existing legal framework will remain in place until April 2026, until the Commission’s new proposal mandating detection is adopted.
What happens next largely depends on Germany, but two scenarios are possible after Wednesday’s meeting.
– If Berlin backs the proposal, it is likely to pass under the EU’s qualified majority voting rules. Member states could then formally adopt the measure at a conference in Luxembourg next week.
– If Berlin abstains or continues to oppose, negotiators will be sent back to square one, and it is unclear whether the article will ultimately become law.
Several EU officials involved in the talks said Germany could make its position clear within the next few hours.
© 2025 AFP
Citation: Child Protection and Privacy: EU Decision Timing (October 8, 2025), Retrieved October 9, 2025 from https://techxplore.com/news/2025-10-child-privacy-decision-eu.html
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