How the EPP pushed the chat-scanning law back to Parliament

The European Parliament will vote on Thursday on a renewed bid to reinstate interim rules allowing tech companies to scan private messages for child sexual abuse material (CSAM), after the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) revived the proposal.

The previous law, which was always meant to be temporary, expired in April after EU institutions failed to extend it, leaving tech companies without a legal basis to scan for CSAM.

In March, Parliament backed including new privacy safeguards in the temporary scanning regime. But after negotiations with the Council failed, MEPs voted to reject the extension altogether, effectively derailing the push to extend the law before it lapsed.

But the EPP group hasn’t given up on getting the temporary rules reinstated.

Parliament President Roberta Metsola, an EPP member, asked EU leaders to kickstart talks again at the last European Council meeting.

Civil society has also been highly critical of the manoeuvre.

The Council nevertheless accepted Metsola’s call, meaning the proposal is now back for a plenary vote.

Given the timing of the vote, it looks like it will be hard for opponents to block the law this time around – or get new amendments included.

Any amendments would need the backing of an absolute majority of MEPs at a time when, ahead of the summer recess, full attendance isn’t guaranteed.

Interim rules with a permanent impact

The outcome of Thursday’s vote is likely to impact ongoing trilogue negotiations on a permanent framework for CSAM scanning, called the Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR), which is meant to replace the interim regime – though progress has been painstakingly slow.

Socialist Birgit Sippel, who was lead MEP on the interim CSAM file, warned in a letter to Cyprus’ ambassador last month that negotiations on CSAR “would be seriously jeopardised if the Interim Derogation were to be prolonged once more, or worse, installed on a permanent basis”.

(nl, aw)