European governments have confirmed a temporary regime allowing messaging services to voluntarily deploy measures to detect suspected child sexual abuse material (CSAM), preserving a carve-out for end-to-end encrypted messages previously introduced by MEPs.
On Wednesday, EU ambassadors approved the written procedure for the temporary framework, derogating from the bloc's rules on the privacy of electronic communications to combat the spread of the illegal content.
Written procedures are normally employed for relatively non-controversial files and allow member states to give their voting preference without a formal meeting. On Thursday, the file was confirmed as adopted with 25 governments in favour; only one voted against while another abstained.
In other words, the member states confirmed the text as it passed in the European Parliament earlier this month, including a last-minute amendment removing end-to-end encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal from its scope.
The temporary measure has proved controversial, with privacy advocates, who have branded it "chat control," warning of a dangerous precedent for scanning people's private messages.
