What happens to your private messages under 'Chat Control'?
4 hours ago
- EU law does not currently apply to end-to-end encrypted messages on platforms like WhatsApp and Signal.
- A temporary regulation allows voluntary scanning of unencrypted messages for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) until 2028.
- A permanent proposal, 'Chat Control 2.0', is under negotiation and may extend scanning to encrypted chats.
- Detection methods include hash matching (fast but with high false positives) and machine learning (error-prone, especially for text).
- Client-side scanning on encrypted services would inspect messages before encryption, raising privacy concerns.
- Human reviewers often misclassify content, leading to false reports, particularly involving teenage interactions.
- Alternatives include targeted court-authorized scanning and on-device warnings that never send data.