Technology companies such as Meta, Microsoft, Google and others may soon have the right to scan private chat messages for evidence of child sexual abuse.
On July 9, the European Parliament supported the idea of allowing instant messenger owners to scan private correspondence in order to combat child sexual abuse on the Internet, the German news service Deutsche Welle reported.
The new rules do not apply to chats with end-to-end encryption, such as WhatsApp, Signal and others, but allow the use of automated content scanning tools directly on users’ devices.
In order for messengers to legally detect child pornography, they must obtain special permission to deviate from strict EU data protection rules. A similar practice existed previously, but in April the exemption ceased, as the European Parliament refused to renew it in its previous form.
It is planned that the temporary regime will be in force until April 2028. Before the rules come into force, the European Commission must voice its position, and the final decision must be made by the EU Council.