The struggle for EU chat control in Brussels continues. After six months of intensive negotiations under the Cypriot Council presidency, Parliament's negotiators report substantial compromises in almost all areas of the planned regulation to protect children from sexual abuse online. However, behind the scenes, a power struggle over digital privacy continues, with legislative bodies increasingly resorting to unconventional means.
As the Parliament's negotiating team announced after the so-called trilogue on Monday, the negotiators could not agree again on core issues of Chat Control 2.0 – the mandatory and suspicion-independent scanning of private communication, even for encrypted messengers. According to the MEPs, they withstood the massive pressure from the member states and defended their red line against blanket mass surveillance.
Reportedly, the parties involved made progress on contentious issues such as future age verification. However, options for scanning encrypted chats for abuse material remain hotly debated. An agreement on the package is therefore postponed. The Digital Society Association considers this an important interim victory: The ongoing civil society protest is showing its effect.
