MPs fear surveillance
Resistance to EU plans for “chat control”
18.06.2024, 05:07
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The EU Commission’s plans to detect child pornography in messaging apps are causing resistance: in an open letter, numerous MPs are warning against “chat control” that amounts to mass surveillance. The member states should abandon the plan, the authors demand.
In an open letter, 36 politicians from Europe appealed to the EU member states to vote against the so-called chat control to combat sexual violence against children. They are convinced that the proposed measures are incompatible with European fundamental rights, the paper said. The signatories include FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann and her party colleague Konstantin Kuhle, as well as Konstantin von Notz and Emilia Fester from the Greens. In addition to politicians from national parliaments such as Germany and Austria, members of the European Parliament also signed the paper.
It continued: “We are committed to protecting the right to anonymous and pseudonymous use of the Internet and to strengthening end-to-end encryption.” All negotiating governments are urgently called upon to reject the current plans.
“No additional safety for children”
In 2022, the EU Commission presented a proposal according to which providers such as Google or Facebook could, under certain circumstances, be required to use software to search their services for images of child abuse. Critics speak of “chat control” and fear mass surveillance. Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann of the FDP also has concerns. According to the signatories, an approach is needed that, among other things, prioritizes protection against child sexual abuse. In addition, more resources and more targeted coordination of European law enforcement authorities are needed.
“Instead of effectively protecting children from sexual violence on the internet, the compromise draft continues to massively interfere with the protection of everyone’s digital privacy,” said Tobias Bacherle, member of the Green Party’s Bundestag and German co-initiator. Maximilian Funke-Kaiser, the digital policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group and also co-initiator, said that the “chat control” does not create additional security for children, but leads to the end of private communication via messengers as we know it. The EU states are expected to address the issue again on Wednesday.