Chat Control: EU states want to legalize comprehensive mass scans indirectly
3 hours ago
- Leaked EU documents reveal plans to enforce mass scanning of private messages via administrative orders, using so-called search plans to create a permanent legal basis.
- The plan would allow national judicial or independent administrative authorities to issue temporary blanket authorizations for chat and email providers to scan message content, aiming to cement current voluntary practices.
- Former MEP Patrick Breyer warns this approach amounts to mass surveillance of innocent users without suspicion, comparing it to mopping the floor while the tap runs.
- The Council's Legal Service warns that scanning entire services likely violates EU law and could be classified as general and indiscriminate surveillance by the European Court of Justice.
- As a fallback, the Irish Council Presidency plans to exclude private chats from the regulation, leaving the temporary chat control 1.0 as a permanent loophole for voluntary mass scans.
- The EU Parliament advocates for targeted investigations, prevention, and judicial oversight, including stricter privacy settings and targeted orders based on specific suspicion.