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The EU is debating how far platforms should go in scanning private digital messages and conversations.
Earlier this month, MEPs approved extending the “Chat Control 1.0” regulation until April 2028. The measure, in force since 2021, allows platforms to voluntarily scan digital private messages and emails. This doesn’t apply to end-to-end encrypted services, including WhatsApp and Signal, where only senders and receivers can read messages.
Chat control is an exception to Europe’s e-Privacy Directive, which protects private online activity and communication. It requires users’ consent before any access, monitoring, or use.
The goal is to protect children from the increasing number of online sexual abuse material and to use stronger tools to identify content that would otherwise remain unnoticed. The EU Commission recorded a significant increase in online child sexual abuse reports, rising from one million in 2010 to over 23 million in 2025. These reports contained 61.8 million files, including 29.4 million images and 26.3 million videos.
But a bigger reform is already on the table. Co-legislators are negotiating “Chat Control 2.0,” which would force all online platforms (including encrypted ones) to scan private digital conversations. Scanning encrypted messages breaches users’ data privacy and violates EU laws, including the e-Privacy Directive and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Co-legislators have not yet agreed on these tougher rules, but negotiations are set to resume in September.
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