For some years now in theEuropean Union The possibility of introducing a new regulation designed for contrast pedophilia online: the proposal would be to apply systems of Control of private messages. After comparisons, criticism and debates, developments are expected in the next few days: the Member States of the EU will have to communicate whether or not they intend to support the proposal.
“Chat Control” at the crossroads: the vote for control of chats in the EU is approaching
This new regulation, especially known by the name of “Chat Control“, It was proposed in 2022 by the then European Commissioner for Internal Affairs (the Swedish Ylva Johansson), and was the subject of numerous discussions and heated comparisons in the European institutions. We also spoke of it last year, when there was the bill presented by Belgium.
The proposal for the regulation that establishes rules for the prevention and fight against sexual abuse on minors In practice, it provides that any private conversation is subjected to a check, so as to verify that users are not involved in pedophilia activities (such as the exchange of images, harassment and approach attempts): all messages that pass through the various platforms (including WhatsApp, Telegram, Gmail, Facebook Messenger and so on) could be verified before the content arrives at destination.
This control should be integrated within services and apps, and should take place with the use of specific algorithms Able to identify in a moment, suspicious phrases and images, also through the comparison with archives treated by the police and containing materials already known to be linked to the world of pedophilia. In the event of a response, a report would automatically be sent, to allow a manual verification: according to reports, only in the case of actual crime is it required that the platform will communicate the due information to the authorities.
This on the one hand would allow to block the spread of child pornographic images and to intercept attempts to adapt on the net, but on the other hand there is more than one worry As for the privacy conversations and the actual protection of personal data. A system of this type could prove particularly problematicwith the weakening of the current end-to-end encryption: in practice the control of the outgoing message would have happened before even the encryption, so as to allow the reading of the same for the checks in question.
WhatsApp and the other platforms would be forced to develop new systems for this type of preventive analysis, with a risk always present of false positives and consequently exposure to private conversations without intentions or illegal content. Not to mention the problems that could happen with communications between consenting teenagers.
The system could also create a dangerous precedent for the freedom of expression. Potentially, albeit created with a shareable idea, a similar system could also be used by authoritarian governments to control opponents, journalists and activists.
In short, the topic is complex, and in recent years the positions of the various member countries have not always been clear: countries such as Sweden, Spain, France and Ireland have shown favorable opinions, while Italy, although started from a more ambiguous position, is starting to move in that direction. Countries like Austria and Poland have declared themselves against, while Germany has not yet been clearly exposed (while tending towards the opposition), as well as several other EU member states.
The decision should arrive shortly: in the next few days the final negotiations will be held in Brussels, with a vote scheduled for the October 14, 2025. Will we see some progress more than three years after the initial proposal, in one sense or another?
And are you favorable or contrary to the introduction of this “chat control” within the European Union? Let us know yours. If you want to consult the complete proposal you can follow this link.
