{"id":872186,"date":"2025-09-11T21:11:56","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T02:11:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/11\/chat-control-eu-to-decide-on-requirement-for-tech-firms-to-scan-encrypted-messages\/"},"modified":"2025-09-11T21:11:56","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T02:11:56","slug":"chat-control-eu-to-decide-on-requirement-for-tech-firms-to-scan-encrypted-messages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/11\/chat-control-eu-to-decide-on-requirement-for-tech-firms-to-scan-encrypted-messages\/","title":{"rendered":"Chat Control: EU to decide on requirement for tech firms to scan encrypted messages"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Law enforcement experts and policymakers are due to meet on 12 September<\/a> to decide on proposals to require technology companies, such as Signal and WhatsApp, to scan all encrypted messages and communications before they are transmitted.<\/p>\n

The Danish presidency of the EU Council is pushing for a vote on the proposals, dubbed \u201cChat Control\u201d \u2013 which advocate mass scanning of mobile phones and computers to identify suspected child abuse material sent by encrypted communications services used by the pubic \u2013 by 14 October.<\/p>\n

More than 500 cryptographers and security researchers signed an open letter<\/a> on 9 September, warning that the proposals are technically unfeasible and would \u201ccompletely undermine\u201d the security and privacy of all European citizens by creating vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers and hostile nation states.<\/p>\n

The encrypted messaging service WhatsApp is among the technology companies to have raised concerns about the European Union\u2019s (EU) draft proposals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe latest proposal from the presidency of the Council of the EU breaks end-to-end encryption and puts everyone\u2019s privacy, freedom and digital security at risk,\u201d a spokesperson told Computer Weekly.<\/p>\n

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<\/i>Denmark\u2019s compromise<\/h2>\n

The European Commission first put forward proposals to mandate tech companies to scan emails and messages for potential child abuse content in 2022, but the plans were put on hold after they were blocked by a minority of member states amid concerns the proposals would damage the security and privacy of EU citizens.<\/p>\n

The Danish presidency proposed a compromise<\/a> in July 2025, which sought to strike a balance between maintaining the security of encrypted communications services and identifying potentially illegal content.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Danish draft asserts that nothing in the proposed regulation should be \u201cinterpreted as prohibiting, weakening or circumventing\u201d encryption, and expressly permits technology companies to continue to offer end-to-end encrypted services.<\/p>\n

But it also requires technology companies to introduce \u201cvetted technologies\u201d on phones and computers to scan messages for images, videos or URLs that could be associated with known child abuse content before they are encrypted and transmitted.<\/p>\n

Tech companies will also be required to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms to detect previously unknown abuse images.<\/p>\n

As of 10 September, some 15 member states supported the Danish proposals, with six member states undecided and six in opposition.<\/p>\n

Dissenters include Belgium, Poland, Finland and the Czech Republic, which have raised concerns about the mass surveillance of citizens\u2019 communications.<\/p>\n

Supporters include France, Italy, Spain and Sweden. Germany is as yet undecided. Each member state receives votes based on the number of representatives it has, with large countries having more sway over the final decision.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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<\/i>Suspicionless mass surveillance<\/h2>\n