EU governments debate reviving temporary chat monitoring regime

EU ambassadors agreed on Friday to pursue a temporary legal exemption that would allow messaging services such as WhatsApp and Messenger to scan for child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The proposal, put forward by the Cypriot presidency of the Council, would revive a regime that the European Parliament voted against in March.

European lawmakers warned that extending the interim measure could jeopardise ongoing negotiations on a permanent CSAM framework, often referred to by critics as “chat control”. MEP Birgit Sippel (Germany) said the Parliament has always supported targeted detection, while MEP Markéta Gregorová (Czechia) warned that reopening the discussion would undermine the longer‑term regulatory work. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola had earlier urged Council leaders to advance the dossier despite the lack of parliamentary consensus. The next inter‑institutional negotiation on the CSAM regulation is scheduled for Monday.

The debate highlights the tension between child‑protection efforts and privacy concerns over end‑to‑end encryption within the EU.