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The European Parliament has backed temporary rules allowing technology companies to scan private communications voluntarily for child sexual abuse material until 2028.<\/p>\n
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However, lawmakers also approved an amendment excluding messages protected by end-to-end encryption. The amended proposal will now return to the Council of the European Union for review.<\/p>\n
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Parliament voted on July 9 to revive the temporary legal framework known as \u201cChat Control 1.0\u201d by its critics. The previous rules expired in April while European institutions continued negotiations over a permanent system.<\/p>\n
According to the official voting record<\/a>, 314 lawmakers voted to reject the Council\u2019s position, while 276 voted against rejection. Another 17 abstained. However, opponents needed an absolute majority of 361 votes to stop the proposal.<\/p>\n As a result, the legislation advanced even though more lawmakers voted against the Council\u2019s position than supported it. The rules allow online service providers to detect, remove and report suspected child sexual abuse material voluntarily.<\/p>\n Supporters say the framework gives platforms legal grounds to identify and report abusive content. Meanwhile, privacy groups argue that broad scanning could expose private communications belonging to users who are not under investigation.<\/p>\n Parliament also approved an amendment stating that the scanning framework should not cover communications protected by end-to-end encryption.<\/p>\n The encryption amendment<\/a> received 369 votes in favor, 236 against and six abstentions. End-to-end encryption prevents platforms and outside parties from reading messages while they move between senders and recipients.<\/p>\n The exemption applies to communications \u201cto which end-to-end encryption is, has been or will be applied,\u201d according to the text adopted by Parliament<\/a>.<\/p>\nEnd-to-end encrypted chats receive exemption<\/strong><\/h2>\n