The European Parliament put an end to Chat Control in a dramatic vote on Thursday. The proposal, which would have continued to allow the scanning of private messages, fell - despite attempts to push through a new vote. The decision is now described as a decisive message ahead of the upcoming battle over the EU's future surveillance laws.
The European Parliament on Thursday voted down the proposal to extend the temporary Chat Control law. An overwhelming majority of 384 votes to 163, with 14 abstentions, defeated the controversial proposal. The decision means that the current rule, which allows companies to voluntarily scan messages for known abusive material, will expire on April 3, reports European Perspectives.
This is the temporary derogation from 2021, often referred to as ”Chat Control 1”. It is separate from the larger, permanent law currently being negotiated in the EU.
”Chat Control 1 has been voted down by the European Parliament. A victory for civil liberties and a sign of strength for further negotiations on the permanent regulation Chat Control 2.”, writes the Swedish Democrat MEP Charlie Weimers, one of the few Swedish EU politicians who opposed Chat Control, on X.
New vote after failed negotiations
The vote came after negotiations between the European Parliament and member states broke down earlier in March, when Parliament had demanded that surveillance should only target suspects and require a court order.
Member states did not accept this. Instead, the EPP group, among others, pushed through a new vote to change Parliament's previous line.
Critics argue that it was an attempt to achieve a different result from what Parliament had already decided.
The whole proposal fell
In Thursday's vote, the whole report was voted down, stopping an extension of the rules. This means that the current system for the voluntary detection of illegal material in private messages will now end if no new decision is taken in time.
At the same time, other laws remain in place that require the removal of illegal content from platforms.
The criticism: monitoring without effect
The debate has been fierce. Proponents have highlighted the fight against child abuse, while critics question both the method and the effect.
Member of the European Parliament Patrick Breyer (German Pirate Party) has warned that wide scanning produces large amounts of false positives and takes resources away from targeted investigations into real crimes.
According to critics, such systems also risk targeting innocent people and making private communications less secure.
What happens next?
The decision stops the temporary law, but the issue continues. The EU is now working on the permanent legislation, often referred to as Chat Control 2, which could have wider implications.
If no new decision is taken before April 3, there will be a legal void on how companies can work to detect abusive material in messages.
Register those driving the agenda and create a ”Black list” for future needs.
The communists don't seem to be coming to any sense or sanity for a long time yet.