First developed in 2021 and now seeking approval in a watered-down form, Chat Control is the European Union’s proposed solution to combat Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). It introduces rules that would allow messaging platforms (such as messaging apps, social media platforms, and email providers) to scan people’s private digital communications for illegal content. The legislation is currently stalled, as the European Parliament and the Council have not agreed on a final text.
Supporters argue that automated digital tools are necessary to protect children online, but privacy advocates and security experts warn that the measures could effectively legalise mass surveillance.
The legislative process is divided into two frameworks: an interim measure (Chat Control 1.0) and a proposed permanent regulation (Chat Control 2.0). The first creates an exemption to the EU’s ePrivacy Directive, allowing platforms to scan unencrypted communications on a voluntary basis. Chat Control 2.0, meanwhile, is the Commission’s proposal for a permanent, mandatory law.
At the centre of the debate is the end-to-end encryption, which apps use to ensure that only the sender and recipient can read messages. To scan encrypted communications, the proposed law would require technology companies to implement “client-side scanning”, which intercepts and analyses messages directly on a user’s device before they are encrypted.
Digital rights organisations and technical experts warn that the automated AI filters used for scanning are unreliable and prone to false positives. Ordinary family photos or messages could be flagged as illegal, triggering automatic reports to law enforcement and undermining the presumption of innocence.
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