EU now one step away from reviving private message scanning rules
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EU now one step away from reviving private message scanning rules
July 8, 2026 By Alex Lekander — Leave a Comment<br>XLinkedInRedditFacebookShare
The European Parliament has approved an urgent procedure to fast-track legislation that would revive the EU's expired "Chat Control 1.0" rules.
This development sets up a decisive vote on July 9 over whether online platforms may once again be allowed to voluntarily scan private user communications for child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
MEPs voted 331 in favor and 304 against using the urgency procedure, allowing Parliament to bypass the usual committee stage. The procedural vote does not itself reinstate the law but accelerates consideration of a proposal that would effectively restore the temporary legal framework that expired in April.
STRASBOURG: EU Chat Control 👁️🗨️
Just a few moments ago, the European Parliament approved the urgent procedure for the Chat Control extension (331 in favour, 304 against).
On Thursday, MEPs will vote on whether to allow online platforms to scan private messages. pic.twitter.com/vBgyvFCXYl<br>— Sebastián Lukomski (@lukomski_sebito) July 7, 2026
The legislation in question is separate from the EU's long-running negotiations over the proposed Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR), commonly known as "Chat Control 2.0." The coexistence of two different legislative files has led to confusion, as one concerns the revival of an expired temporary measure while the other seeks to establish a permanent framework for detecting and reporting CSAM.
The temporary regulation, formally Regulation (EU) 2021/1232, originally created an exemption to the ePrivacy Directive allowing providers to voluntarily scan private communications for CSAM. The exemption applied primarily to services such as Gmail, Facebook Messenger, Instagram Messenger, Skype, Snapchat, iCloud Mail, and Xbox messaging, while end-to-end encrypted services were generally unaffected unless providers chose to implement client-side scanning.
As previously reported, the European Parliament voted in March to reject an extension of the temporary derogation after negotiations with the Council collapsed. The regulation subsequently expired on April 4, 2026, removing the legal basis that many platforms had relied upon for voluntary scanning within the scope of the ePrivacy Directive.
Since then, however, the Council of the European Union has sought to bring the measure back through what is formally presented as a new regulation containing substantially the same provisions. Former Pirate Party MEP Patrick Breyer, a long-time opponent of the proposal, describes the move as an unprecedented attempt to resurrect legislation that Parliament had already rejected.
🇬🇧Narrow majority for urgency vote on reinstating #ChatControl 1.0 mass scans.<br>331 +<br>304 –<br>11 o<br>A dark day for privacy & democracy. On Thursday, there will be the vote on the substance. Only an absolute majority can stop it. 🚨<br>https://https://t.co/H0qGzofi7X<br>— Patrick Breyer #JoinMastodon (@echo_pbreyer) July 7, 2026
According to Breyer's timeline, the Council approved its negotiating position on July 2 before Parliament agreed this week to consider the proposal under an expedited procedure.
The binding vote is scheduled for Thursday, July 9. Under the procedure, opponents would need an absolute majority of all Members of the European Parliament, 361 votes, to reject or amend the proposal. If that threshold is not reached, the Council's text is expected to proceed without the Parliament imposing additional safeguards.
The revived proposal should not be confused with Chat Control 2.0, the permanent Child Sexual Abuse Regulation that has been under negotiation since 2022. That proposal remains stalled after five rounds of trilogue negotiations between Parliament, the Council, and the European Commission.
The main point of disagreement remains whether providers should be permitted or required to conduct broad, suspicionless scanning of private communications, particularly on end-to-end encrypted services. The Parliament's negotiating position limits scanning to users or groups specifically suspected of child sexual abuse and requires judicial authorization, while the Council has continued advocating broader risk-mitigation obligations and voluntary detection measures that critics argue would still encourage mass scanning.
The Council's...