Central Development
The European Parliament adopted amendments on July 9 to the EU privacy exemption that permits electronic communication services to voluntarily detect child sexual abuse online, according to the European Parliament. The revised position would narrow detection measures, require judicial approval, and exclude communications protected by end-to-end encryption, the European Parliament said. The text now goes to the Council, where governments can approve it or seek further negotiations, as GPS previously reported.
Why It Matters
The vote moves a contested privacy-and-child-protection file into the next institutional phase. The European Commission, which proposes EU legislation and shapes digital regulation across the bloc, also said a July 9 survey found children across the EU want stronger digital fairness rules, including age verification on social media, better protection from personalized advertising, and limits on addictive design features, according to the European Commission. The European Commission said those findings will inform the planned Digital Fairness Act, linking the scanning debate to a wider EU push on online protections for minors.
Perspective
The institutional framing is narrower than some public debate around “chat control.” Wired reported that a majority of lawmakers voted against proposals that would let technology companies scan private messages, while also noting that the legislation would still allow companies to scan some texts, emails, and social-media messages for child sexual abuse material. The Parliament’s own account emphasizes safeguards and the exclusion of end-to-end encrypted communications, while the media account stresses the remaining scope for voluntary scanning.
What to Watch
Whether the Council accepts Parliament’s revised position or reopens negotiations.
- How judicial approval requirements are defined in any final text.
- Whether the Digital Fairness Act incorporates the survey-backed demands on age verification, advertising, and addictive design.
