{"id":874955,"date":"2025-10-02T21:29:27","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T02:29:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/02\/eu-chat-control-plans-pose-existential-catastrophic-risk-to-encryption-says-signal\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T21:29:27","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T02:29:27","slug":"eu-chat-control-plans-pose-existential-catastrophic-risk-to-encryption-says-signal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/02\/eu-chat-control-plans-pose-existential-catastrophic-risk-to-encryption-says-signal\/","title":{"rendered":"EU Chat Control plans pose \u2018existential catastrophic risk\u2019 to encryption, says Signal"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/security-code-encryption-alexskopje-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" data-credit=\"alexskopje - stock.adobe.com\"  width=\"520\" height=\"173\" alt><\/p>\n<p>alexskopje &#8211; stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"content-header\">\n<h2>As EU member states prepare to vote on plans to mandate tech companies to introduce technology to scan messages before they are encrypted, Signal warns that Chat Control will create new security risks<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"content-center\">\n<ul>\n<li><i data-icon=\"1\"><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i data-icon=\"2\"><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"contributors-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Bill-Goodwin-CW-contributor-2022-140x180px.jpg\" alt=\"Bill Goodwin\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.techtarget.com\/contributor\/Bill-Goodwin\">Bill Goodwin,<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>Investigations Editor<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n\tPublished: <span>01 Oct 2025 15:30<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"content-body\">\n<p>European proposals to require technology companies to scan the contents of communications sent through encrypted email and messaging services pose an \u201cexistential catastrophic risk\u201d, it was claimed last night.<\/p>\n<p>Encrypted messaging service <a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366619473\/Warning-over-privacy-of-encrypted-messages-as-Russia-targets-Signal-Messenger\">Signal<\/a>, which is widely used by governments, businesses and the public to send secure messaging services, warned that passing new legislation \u201cnegates the very purpose of encryption\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The European Council is due to vote on Danish proposals on 14 October to mandate emailing and messaging services to install machine learning and scanning technology on mobile phones and computers to identify and report suspected child abuse images.<\/p>\n<p>European Union (EU) member states are divided on the scheme, dubbed Chat Control, which has been widely criticised by cryptographers and security researchers who claim that mandatory scanning would create security vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers and hostile nation states.<\/p>\n<p>Signal\u2019s vice-president for global affairs, Udbhav Tiwari, said that if the proposals became law they would introduce \u201cmassive glaring vulnerabilities\u201d into operating systems used on phones and computers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMalicious actors will start using this capability to gain access that would simply be unthinkable for them under the current security paradigms of how operating systems have been implemented,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Under the Danish proposals, technology companies would be required to introduce client-side scanning technologies that will use hash functions to identify known abuse images and machine learning algorithms to identify unknown images. One way to enforce it would be to require software companies to introduce scanning capabilities in widely used operating systems, such as Windows, Apple\u2019s MacOS and iOS, and Google\u2019s Android.<\/p>\n<section data-menu-title=\"Security vulnerabilities\">\n<h2><i data-icon=\"1\"><\/i>Security vulnerabilities<\/h2>\n<p>Tiwari, speaking in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=L6YmQJ9Nijw\">online-discussion<\/a>, said that law enforcement and intelligence agencies in Europe have pressed for government devices to be exempt from mandatory scanning to protect the security of government data from security vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can imagine, if an intelligence agency wants to make sure that its servers and services don\u2019t have this technology, the CEO of a multibillion-dollar company probably doesn\u2019t want its C suite to be susceptible to the same risks,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Critics say that Chat Control would be expensive to implement, as it would require EU countries to deploy thousands of law enforcement officers to manually review images that had been identified as suspect by scanning algorithms that are prone to produce false positives or false negatives.<\/p>\n<p>The proposals are likely to face legal challenges if they are enacted, said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/asha-o-allen\/?originalSubdomain=be\">Asha Allen<\/a>, secretary general for the Centre for Democracy and Technology Europe.<\/p>\n<p>She said the European Council\u2019s own lawyers had raised reservations about the lawfulness of the proposals.<\/p>\n<p>The European Court of Human Rights, for example, found that in the case of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eff.org\/deeplinks\/2024\/03\/european-court-human-rights-confirms-undermining-encryption-violates-fundamental\">Podchasov v Russia<\/a> that attempts to weaken encryption or create \u201cbackdoors\u201d are in breach of privacy rights.<\/p>\n<p>The Chat Control proposals are \u201cinherently disproportionate\u201d as they would \u201crequire scanning private messages and content of users who have no allegations or suspicions or wrongdoing against them\u201d, said Allen.<\/p>\n<p>They are also likely to breach General Data Protection Regulation data protection regulations, which require people to give their \u201cinformed consent\u201d before their private messages are scanned.<\/p>\n<p>Those that refuse will not have full access to encrypted messaging or email services, in what Allen said amounts to \u201ccoercive consent\u201d and a breach of data protection law.<\/p>\n<p>Critics say that Europe may ultimately need to make it unlawful for people to use techniques that could bypass client-side scanning if the measures become law, by, for example, making it illegal to modify operating systems that contain client-side scanning software, and banning the use of virtual private networks.<\/p>\n<p>Tiwari said that criminals and bad actors would find ways to circumvent Chat Control, but that people who want to use encryption for legitimate purposes would lose their privacy.<\/p>\n<p>Top computer and security experts warned in a scientific paper that now-abandoned plans by Apple to introduce client-side scanning in 2021 were unworkable, prone to abuse by criminals, and a threat to safety and security.<\/p>\n<p>EU member states are divided on the Chat Control proposals, with 12 in favour, including France, Denmark and Spain. The Netherlands, Finland and Poland are among six countries opposing. The eight undecided states include Belgium, Germany, Sweden and Greece.<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\"><\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"DigDeeperSplash\">\n<h4>\n\t\t\t<i data-icon=\"m\"><\/i>Read more on Information technology (IT) in Italy<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366630597\/Chat-Control-EU-to-decide-on-requirement-for-tech-firms-to-scan-encrypted-messages\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/security-code-encryption-alexskopje-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/security-code-encryption-alexskopje-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/security-code-encryption-alexskopje-adobe.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Chat Control: EU to decide on requirement for tech firms to scan encrypted messages<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Bill-Goodwin-CW-contributor-2022-140x180px.jpg\" alt=\"BillGoodwin\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Bill\u00a0Goodwin<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366618230\/Europol-seeks-evidence-of-encryption-on-crime-enforcement-as-it-steps-up-pressure-on-Big-Tech\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero Images\/Europol-building-2-PR-hero_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/Europol-building-2-PR-hero_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/Europol-building-2-PR-hero.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Europol seeks evidence of encryption on crime enforcement as it steps-up pressure on Big Tech<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Bill-Goodwin-CW-contributor-2022-140x180px.jpg\" alt=\"BillGoodwin\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Bill\u00a0Goodwin<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366581692\/Crime-agency-crticises-Meta-as-European-police-chiefs-call-for-curbs-on-end-to-end-encryption\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero Images\/Europol-building-2-PR-hero_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/Europol-building-2-PR-hero_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/Europol-building-2-PR-hero.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Crime agency criticises Meta as European police chiefs call for curbs on end-to-end encryption<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Bill-Goodwin-CW-contributor-2022-140x180px.jpg\" alt=\"BillGoodwin\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Bill\u00a0Goodwin<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366567052\/Chat-control-Tech-companies-warn-ministers-over-EU-encryption-plans\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/German\/article\/email_data_fotolia_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/German\/article\/email_data_fotolia_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/German\/article\/email_data_fotolia.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Chat control: Tech companies warn ministers over EU encryption plans<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Bill-Goodwin-CW-contributor-2022-140x180px.jpg\" alt=\"BillGoodwin\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Bill\u00a0Goodwin<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366631949\/EU-Chat-Control-plans-pose-existential-catastrophic-risk-to-encryption-says-Signal\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><br \/>\n Laine Lupo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>alexskopje &#8211; stock.adobe.com As EU member states prepare to vote on plans to mandate tech companies to introduce technology to scan messages before they are encrypted, Signal warns that Chat Control will create new security risks By Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor Published: 01 Oct 2025 15:30 European proposals to require technology companies to scan the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":874956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4250,974,46],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-874955","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-control","8":"category-plans","9":"category-technology"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=874955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/874956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=874955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=874955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=874955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}