The European Parliament has approved a temporary rule allowing messaging apps and social networks to voluntarily scan private messages for child sexual abuse material. The decision has prompted questions from users about what it means for services they use every day. Here are the key points.
What was approved?
Parliament voted to reinstate a temporary exemption from EU privacy rules, informally known as “Chat Control 1.0”. It allows companies — not governments — to voluntarily detect and report known child sexual abuse material in communications on their services. The exemption would last until April 2028.
The vote followed a procedural decision by Parliament’s president, Roberta Metsola, to bring the measure back after it had stalled. Under that procedure, an absolute majority was needed to reject it, and opponents did not reach it. EU member states still need to give final approval.
Will my WhatsApp messages be read?
Parliament added an amendment excluding end-to-end encrypted messages from the scanning. Services such as WhatsApp and Signal encrypt messages so that only the sender and recipient can read them. If the amendment survives negotiations with EU governments, those messages would not be covered.
Is scanning compulsory?
No. The temporary rule allows voluntary scanning; it does not oblige companies to do it.
Why do supporters back it?
Supporters, including Spanish MEPs Javier Zarzalejos of the PP and Juan Fernando López Aguilar of the PSOE, argue that without a legal basis, companies would have to stop the detection they already carry out, leaving police without important leads in abuse cases.
Why are critics worried?
Digital rights groups, cybersecurity experts and hundreds of academics argue that any system for scanning private messages risks being expanded in the future, and that it sets a precedent that could weaken encryption and lead to wider surveillance.
What comes next?
The bigger battle is over a permanent EU regulation on child sexual abuse online, proposed by the Commission in 2022. Earlier versions would have allowed authorities to order platforms to scan messages, including encrypted ones — the most controversial element. Zarzalejos, who leads Parliament’s work on the file, hopes for an agreement by September.
The debate pits two widely shared goals against each other: protecting children and protecting the confidentiality of private communication. How the EU balances them will affect hundreds of millions of users.
