The European Parliament has approved an urgent procedure to fast-track legislation that would revive the EU's expired private message scanning rules [1]. This development sets up a decisive vote on July 9 over whether online platforms may once again be allowed to voluntarily scan private user communications for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) [2]. The legislation in question is separate from the EU's long-running negotiations over the proposed Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR), commonly known as Chat Control 2.0 [3]. The temporary regulation, formally Regulation (EU) 2021/1232, originally created an exemption to the ePrivacy Directive allowing providers to voluntarily scan private communications for CSAM [4].

The Council's own Legal Service reportedly warned in June that even voluntary generalized scanning of communications may conflict with Article 7 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights unless supported by reasonable suspicion and prior judicial authorization [5]. Thursday's parliamentary vote will determine whether the temporary framework returns while negotiations over the much broader and more controversial permanent regulation continue [6].

Sources

  1. https://cyberinsider.com/eu-now-one-step-away-from-reviving-private-message-scanning-rules/
  2. https://edri.org/our-work/chat-control-what-is-actually-going-on
  3. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/04/eu-parliament-blocks-mass-scanning-our-chats-whats-next
  4. https://cyberinsider.com/eu-votes-to-block-extension-of-rules-allowing-private-message-scanning/
  5. https://fightchatcontrol.eu/chat-control-overview
  6. https://x.com/Dinosn/status/2074811617997398284