Upcoming Vote on Chat Control: Renew Deal Is Worse Than Rejected Draft Report
3 days ago
- #Mass Surveillance
- #Chat Control
- #AI Scanning
- The European Parliament is voting on extending 'Chat Control 1.0' until August 2027, with a new compromise by S&D, EPP, and Renew that escalates mass surveillance.
- The new proposal allows automated AI algorithms to scan private chat texts and unknown visuals without judicial oversight, raising significant legal and democratic concerns.
- Key issues include Big Tech acting as judges, lack of protections against abusive flags, undefined 'trusted flaggers', technical flaws, and no redress for wrongly scanned users.
- Mass hash-scanning remains unreliable, leading to context blindness, criminalization of minors, police overload, and failure to protect children in active danger.
- Lobbying efforts by tech vendors and foreign-funded groups push for Chat Control, framing it as necessary despite its flaws and potential for profit-driven surveillance.
- Patrick Breyer of the Pirate Party criticizes the proposal as a 'Trojan horse' that prioritizes tech profits over child safety, urging MEPs to reject the extension.