On July 9, the European Parliament extended the temporary regime for scanning private messages, Chat Control, despite the fact that the majority of voting MEPs opposed it. This decision was made possible due to a procedural nuance: blocking the document required an absolute majority of the total parliament — 361 votes out of 720, while only 314 opponents were present. 276 parliamentarians supported the extension, and 17 abstained.
Thus, voluntary scanning of personal correspondence on internet platforms is once again legalized until April 3, 2028. This refers to a return to the ePrivacy rules, known as Chat Control 1.0. This regime allows platforms to voluntarily check unencrypted or server-analyzable messages for materials related to child sexual abuse (CSAR).
Technical Limitations and the Real Picture
A key aspect: scanning is not mandatory. Major players such as Google, Meta, and Microsoft joined the scheme back in 2021. Services like Gmail, Snapchat, Skype, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Xbox, and Apple's mail services came under scrutiny. However, WhatsApp and Signal remain outside the regime's scope — end-to-end encryption makes server-side scanning technically impossible. MEPs adopted an amendment excluding such services from the provisions, but it still needs to be approved by the EU Council within three months.
Critics of the regime highlight not only the threat to privacy but also the questionable effectiveness of mass scanning. According to official data, since 2022, the volume of reports on suspected abuse has decreased by 50% due to the increased use of encryption. According to the European Commission, only 36% of all abuse reports in 2024 came from scanning private chats — the rest were provided by public posts and cloud storage. The German Federal Criminal Police Office estimates that 48% of incoming signals have no criminal significance, and 40% of investigations involve minors themselves.
The Voice of Victims and the Future of Privacy
The position of those who have experienced abuse is telling. Alexander Hanff, a privacy advocate, emphasized that confidential communications helped him speak out about what happened and achieve punishment for the perpetrators. Marcel Schneider, who is suing Meta over voluntary Chat Control, believes that mass corporate surveillance does not prevent abuse, and real protection requires removing materials at the source, proactive police work on the dark web, and secure application architecture.
The latest vote concerns only the temporary version of the law. The main conflict is shifting to the permanent CSAR regulation, which critics have already dubbed Chat Control 2.0. Meanwhile, the UK has announced plans to restrict social media use for citizens under 16.
Analytical Commentary: This precedent clearly demonstrates how procedural mechanisms can nullify the will of elected representatives. For the crypto community, this is an alarming signal: while end-to-end encryption is still technically protected, political pressure on it will only increase. Investors and developers should closely monitor the development of CSAR 2.0 — this could become a bifurcation point for the entire private communications industry.