Chat Control: the EU votes again on scanning your messages
The European Parliament votes Thursday on extending Chat Control, which lets platforms scan private messages. Here is what is at stake — and Portugal's view.
The European Parliament votes again on Thursday on so-called Chat Control — the rules that let platforms such as WhatsApp and Messenger scan private messages for child sexual abuse material. That is why the topic is blowing up online under the label its critics gave it: chat control.
What is Chat Control?
Chat Control is a carve-out from the EU’s privacy rules that allows platforms to scan private communications to detect child sexual abuse material (CSAM). That temporary permission expired in April, and without it companies can no longer run those voluntary scans. It is the renewal of this exemption that is now back on the table.
Why is Thursday’s vote controversial?
On Tuesday, MEPs narrowly approved — by 331 votes to 304, with 11 abstentions — using an urgent procedure to vote again on Thursday. The procedural move, pushed by the centre-right EPP, changes the maths: instead of needing a majority to pass, the text now goes through unless at least 361 MEPs reject or amend it. In other words, it just got much harder to stop.
And where does Portugal stand?
The Portuguese government sees fighting child sexual abuse as essential, but stresses that rights such as privacy should not be curtailed without justification — arguing for caution and internal debate on the proposal. Critics, including digital-rights groups, warn there is no way to scan messages without mistakenly sweeping up huge volumes of perfectly lawful communications, and that the scanning threatens the end-to-end encryption that keeps everyone’s chats private.
For anyone who messages every day, the question is simple: how far can the law go to protect children without turning every phone into a surveillance point? Thursday’s vote will give the next answer. Official documents and the timetable are on the European Parliament website. On other EU battles over digital power, see what we wrote about the EU’s fines on big tech.
Image: Sebastian Wallroth / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
