The European Union’s new plan to have WhatsApp and Signal checked for online child abuse appears to be off the table. The Netherlands and Germany continue to oppose supervision, which means the plan is unlikely to pass.
The EU has been looking for a way to prevent the spread of child abuse images on messaging apps for years. After several versions that met with much resistance, Denmark put a new proposal on the table in August in the hope of convincing opponents.
Digital grooming (also known as grooming) has been temporarily removed from the text of the law. To detect grooming, in addition to photos and videos, the contents of messages must also be scanned. This happens, for example, with texts such as “are you home alone?” or “are your parents home?”. Germany, an important player, thought that went way too far.
But the new plan does not seem to be coming to fruition either. Germany seemed to be making a U-turn and helping the proponents gain a majority. But “Germany will not agree to such proposals,” Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig said on Wednesday. According to insiders, this also seems to apply to the Danish proposal. EU members will vote on the plan next week.
The Netherlands will also probably vote against the proposal. The government has been doing this ever since the EU came up with a plan. “If this law is introduced, WhatsApp, for example, could be forced to look at all the messages that everyone sends, including from people who are not suspected of anything at all,” Rejo Zenger of privacy organization Bits of Freedom previously explained to NU.nl.
There has been a fierce campaign about tracking app traffic for years. Children’s rights organizations advocate supervision to prevent abuse. But opponents fear that innocent civilians will also suffer from the investigation services.
The European Union’s new plan to have WhatsApp and Signal monitored for online child abuse appears to be off the table. The Netherlands and Germany continue to oppose the surveillance, making it unlikely that the plan will pass.
The EU has been searching for a way to combat the spread of images of child abuse on messaging apps for years. After several versions that met with much resistance, Denmark put a new proposal on the table in August in the hope of persuading opponents.
In it, digital child enticement (also known as grooming) has been temporarily removed from the legal text. In order to detect grooming, in addition to photos and videos, the content of messages must also be scanned. This happens, for example, with texts such as “are you home alone?” or “are your parents home?”. Germany, an important player, thought that was going too far.
But the new plan also seems unlikely to materialize. Germany seemed to be making a turnaround and helping the proponents to a majority. But “Germany will not agree to such proposals,” Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig said on Wednesday. According to insiders, that also seems to apply to the Danish proposal. EU members will vote on the plan next week.
The Netherlands is also likely to vote against the proposal. The government has been doing this since the EU came up with a plan. “If this law comes into effect, for example, WhatsApp can be forced to watch all the messages that everyone sends. So also from people who are not suspected of anything,” Rejo Zenger from privacy organization Bits of Freedom explained to NU.nl earlier.
Scanning app traffic has been fiercely campaigned for years. Children’s rights organizations advocate supervision to combat abuse. But opponents fear that innocent citizens will also be affected by the investigative services.