The European Council is about to vote on the so-called "chat control" bill, with Germany potentially being a decisive factor.

The bill was proposed by Denmark. The core content is to eliminate message encryption, requiring services like Telegram, WhatsApp, and Signal to allow regulatory agencies to review messages before they are encrypted and sent.

Legislators from 15 EU member states have expressed support for the bill, but the total population of these countries has not yet reached 65% of the EU's total population, so more support is needed.

Germany remains cautious about whether to support the bill; if it ultimately decides to support it, it could have a significant impact on privacy rights in Europe.

The "Regulation on Preventing and Combating Child Sexual Abuse" (CSA), also known as the "chat control" regulation, was initially proposed by then EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ilva Johannson in 2022. Its aim is to combat the spread of online child sexual abuse material (CSAM) through measures such as screening before message encryption. The bill previously failed to gain the necessary support to advance.

On July 1, the first day of Denmark's presidency of the EU Council, the country stated it would prioritize this directive as a "high priority" matter.

Since Denmark took over the presidency, member states have been clarifying their positions, which are expected to be finalized before the meeting on September 12, with a vote scheduled for October 14.

The supporting camp needs more members to cover 65% of the EU's population and achieve a qualified majority. The organization Fight Chat Control, which opposes the regulation, states that there are currently six countries that have not clarified their positions:

• Estonia
• Germany
• Greece
• Luxembourg
• Romania
• Slovenia

Among these countries, Germany's position is crucial for the voting outcome in the EU Council. With a population of 83 million, if Germany supports it, the population of supporting countries would increase to 322 million, accounting for 71% of the EU's total population. Even if all five remaining countries support it, their total population would not be sufficient to reach the required ratio.

Fight Chat Control claims that many German Members of the European Parliament oppose the draft bill. Meeting documents leaked to the German media Netzpolitik.org on July 11 show that there are voices against "chat control" from cross-party members. Legislators from Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and the Alternative for Germany (representing the center-left and far-right opposition in Germany, respectively) both oppose the bill.

However, a considerable number of members from the ruling Social Democratic Party, Christian Democratic Union, and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria have yet to clarify their stance.

There are concerns that these undecided members may lean towards extending existing German laws to the entire EU.

Germany already has laws that allow police to bypass the encryption of mainstream messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Signal. In 2021, the German Bundestag amended relevant laws to allow police to intercept communications of "individuals who are not yet suspected of a crime and therefore cannot be subjected to criminal procedural measures."

Software developer and privacy advocate Jikra Knesl stated, "Germany already has some form of ChatControl. Companies like Meta are sharing reports with the police."

He believes that if this measure extends to the EU, it will affect millions of innocent people, who may be searched even if they have not committed any crimes.

As the final decision approaches, civil rights groups, activists, and Members of the European Parliament are publicly opposing "chat control."

Emmanouil Fragkos, a Member of the European Parliament from the Greek right-wing party Greek Solution, submitted a parliamentary inquiry regarding "chat control" in July. He stated that the review of the bill "raises new and serious concerns about the respect for fundamental rights in the EU."

The bill will be reviewed by the EU Council and face a critical vote. Source: European Council

Oliver Laas, a philosophy lecturer at the University of Tartu, wrote in a column on Monday that laws similar to "chat control" "are laying the groundwork for potential democratic backsliding."

He stated that in a world that is becoming increasingly authoritarian, individual protection does not come from the legal constraints on state surveillance capabilities, but from the fundamental absence of such capabilities.

Another point of contention is the impact of "chat control" on the effectiveness of encryption technology.

Fragkos pointed out that establishing mandatory encryption backdoors would "create exploitable security vulnerabilities for cybercriminals, hostile nations, and terrorist organizations."

The FZI Research Center for Information Technology (a non-profit research institution in the IT field) released a position paper opposing "chat control" last year. The document acknowledges that the bill's goals are indisputable, but its implementation would undermine user privacy rights and the effectiveness of encryption technology itself.

Sascha Mann, a digitalization and digital rights policymaker from Volt Europa (a pan-European federalist party in the European Parliament), also questioned the effectiveness of "chat control."

"Besides privacy and consent issues, chat control could even hinder law enforcement's ability to effectively combat sexual assault crimes," he said. The volume of content generated by EU messaging applications "will lead to a large number of false reports, consuming law enforcement resources."

About 400 scientists from global research institutions signed an open letter today confirming the issue of false reports.

The letter states that existing research confirms that the most advanced detectors produce unacceptably high false positive and false negative rates, making them unsuitable for large-scale detection operations involving hundreds of millions of users.

Mann suggested that the EU should adopt the solutions proposed by organizations opposing the CSA, including deleting online CSA materials after investigations and increasing law enforcement resources.

This Friday, Europe will witness whether these concerns can persuade undecided Members of the European Parliament, thereby determining the future of digital privacy in the EU.

Related: The U.S. Congress requests the Treasury Department to report on strategic Bitcoin (BTC) reserve details.

Original: “The Success or Failure of the EU 'Chat Control' Bill Depends on Germany”

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