(fyinews)
Through a regulation that is one stage away from being voted on, the EU is essentially asking its approximately 450 million citizens to waive—without exceptions*—the privacy of their conversations in order to facilitate the arrest of pedophiles.
The reason is the protection of minors, as in 2021 alone, 85 million photos and videos of child sexual abuse were recorded worldwide.
*European politicians are exempt—under certain conditions.
(fyinews)
The revised “Regulation on Preventing and Combating Child Sexual Abuse,” also known as CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material), which concerns the prevention and fight against the sexual abuse of minors, has been postponed for a vote to early December 2025.
This happened because one member state of the European Council, Germany, is not yet ready to take a position.
The idea behind CSAM belongs to Denmark, which submitted its proposal in 2022 and reintroduced it, revised, this year.
It provides for the mass screening of all private communications (iMessage, Messenger, WhatsApp, Signal, etc.), as well as the files users exchange with one another.
The purpose of the screening is to detect child sexual abuse material and prevent attempts to groom minors.
(fyinews)
Law enforcement authorities will be able to require companies to scan conversations to detect such material, through an order issued by a judge or an independent authority.
The content will be checked on users’ devices (client-side scanning), before it is encrypted and sent, and it will also apply to encrypted conversations (end-to-end encryption).
One key change compared to 2022 is that the screening will primarily target URLs, images, and videos, rather than text or audio.
(fyinews)
Critics of CSAM* speak of mass surveillance, control, and censorship, arguing that it:
Is contrary to Articles 7 and 8 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (regarding personal data and privacy).
*They range from ordinary citizens to tech giants.
(fyinews)
The main argument of the critics is that it essentially abolishes end-to-end encryption.
They argue that this specific security method (under which only the sender and the recipient can see the message) is essential for maintaining a secure digital society.
It protects not only citizens, but also journalists, whistleblowers, and human rights activists.
If someone looks at a message, even before it is encrypted, then the security of encryption is compromised.
“It’s like saying we protect the confidentiality of mail, but before you put your letter in the envelope, we’ll look at what you’re writing,” encryption expert Bart Preneel recently explained to Kathimerini.
On the other hand, “without lawful access to encrypted communications, authorities are fighting crime blindfolded,” a spokesperson for Europol told Politico.
(fyinews)
EU countries are almost evenly split:
In favor: Denmark, Spain, France, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Romania
Against: Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia
Undecided: Germany, Greece, Belgium, Italy, Latvia, Slovakia, Sweden
Germany had been against the regulation, but it has moved into the undecided camp, shifting the balance.
As is the case elsewhere, opinions within the government differ: the German Minister of Justice rejected Denmark’s proposal, but final responsibility lies with the Ministry of the Interior.
At the EU level, Europol and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Home Affairs support the proposal; however, the European Commission itself was accused of acting unlawfully by targeting citizens through a campaign in favor of CSAM.
