The European Parliament has passed the Chat Control regulation, allowing for the scanning of private messages for child sexual abuse material [1]. The move has been met with criticism from civil rights activists and IT security researchers, who warn of mass surveillance and unacceptably high error rates of AI scans [2]. The regulation was passed with a narrow majority of 331 to 304 votes and eleven abstentions, despite previous rejections by the Parliament [3]. The procedure used to pass the regulation has been criticized as a procedural trick, which gave the proponents of Chat Control a significant tactical advantage [4].
The regulation will now become law, allowing tech giants like Meta, Google, or Microsoft to voluntarily search private chats, emails, and messenger services for material related to child sexual abuse without specific suspicion [5]. IT security researchers have repeatedly warned about the risks of mass surveillance and the potential for false positives [6]. Civil rights activists like Patrick Breyer have also expressed concerns, stating that the regulation will relieve political pressure on EU governments to engage in a more effective and targeted permanent successor regulation [7].
Sources
- https://www.techtimes.com/articles/320010/20260709/eu-parliament-passes-chat-control-default-314-meps-couldnt-block-scanning-law.htm
- https://csa-scientist-open-letter.org/Sep2025
- https://www.politico.eu/article/child-abuse-bill-tweaked-by-parliament-sent-back-to-council/
- https://www.patrick-breyer.de/en/procedural-trick-before-summer-recess-pushes-eu-parliament-towards-capitulation-on-chat-control/
- https://www.heise.de/news/Chatkontrolle-Ausnahme-fuer-Suche-in-Privat-Chats-endet-11245620.html
- https://drmartinweigele704391.substack.com/p/chatkontrolle-der-ausnahmezustand-ccb
- https://www.patrick-breyer.de/en/eu-parliament-greenlights-chat-control-1-0-breyer-our-children-lose-out/
