The Council has reached a position on the Child Sexual Abuse Regulation after years of difficult negotiations, meaning that talks with Parliament can finally start.
The file, which includes measures aimed at combating the spread of online child sexual abuse material (CSAM), stalled after privacy and security experts raised concerns.
The original Commission proposal would have given law enforcement authorities a right to ask tech companies to scan their services for CSAM and grooming activity under mandatory detection orders.
The concern has been that the Commission proposal could open the door to mass surveillance by forcing messaging platforms to scan even strongly encrypted communications – so-called end-to-end encryption (E2EE) – hence opponents dubbing it the “chat control” law.
After years of back and forth between subsequent Council presidencies, EU countries on Wednesday finally settled on a legal text that removes mandatory detection orders, opting instead to strengthen requirements on platforms to adopt mitigation measures.
Voluntarily scanning of messaging services for CSAM remains on the table as a possible mitigation measure that companies may apply to lower risks on their platforms.
Privacy activists therefore remain worried that CSAM scanning could become a de facto necessity – if regulators end up leaning on E2EE platforms to mitigate risks, despite countries adding wording to the recital in the Council version of the proposal that states the need to safeguard encryption.
The Council is now preparing to start negotiations with the Parliament, which settled on its position on the file back in November 2023 after MEPs agreed to remove detection orders. A compromise will need to be found between the EU co-legislators in order for the law to be adopted which could still take many months.
Peter Hummelgaard, the Danish Minister for Justice, welcomed the development. “I’m glad that the member states have finally agreed on a way forward,” he said in a statement. “Every year, millions of files are shared that depict the sexual abuse of children.”
(nl)
