EU postpones vote on Chat Control, but controversial idea still alive

It was probably expected after a tumultuous last week, but now it’s official. EU lawmakers have postponed a vote on the controversial Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR). Activists warn that the fight’s not over yet.

Already last week, Germany said it would vote against Chat Control, a contentious EU measure designed to protect children online. The country’s leaders argued that it could be abused to monitor all citizens’ private chats.

Since Berlin has the swing vote, the move to postpone the vote and remove it from this week’s agenda, which was scheduled October 14th, isn’t exactly surprising. No majority, no Chat Control – for now.

As per the Danish iteration of the bill (Denmark is holding the EU presidency until January), all messaging apps operating in Europe would be required to scan all URLs, pictures, and videos shared by their users – before a message is even sent.

Why? The new regulation would have required the platforms to be constantly on the lookout for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) – even when the messages are encrypted.

Experts and activists have been up in arms over Chat Control for months, essentially saying that such scanning isn’t compatible with how encryption works. Besides, the regulation would be invasive to user privacy, plain and simple.

“By forcing providers to scan all messages – even encrypted ones – the law would effectively ban secure communication and open dangerous backdoors into everyone’s private life,” said a public letter signed by more than 40 EU tech companies last week.

Activists are naturally glad that the EU is not going ahead with Chat Control. But it’s not the first time the bloc has disagreed on the regulation, and the bill always came back.

Former MEP for the German Pirate Party and digital rights jurist Patrick Breyer wrote on X: “EU governments continue to work on the proposal.”

EU interior ministers are set to meet again at the beginning of December. It’s safe to assume that Chat Control will again be discussed, and so far, there’s no discussion of the option to recall the bill altogether.

Meredith Whittaker, the president of the Signal Foundation, urges vigilance. She said she was relieved that Germany has reaffirmed its opposition to Chat Control but warned: “The war is not over.”

We're so relieved to see Germany reaffirm its opposition to the dangerous Chat Control proposal--the one that would mandate mass scanning of communications. Germany's long been a solid champion of privacy, and the news that it was considering backing mass surveillance was…

undefined Meredith Whittaker (@mer__edith) October 9, 2025

“We must be wary of ‘new’ proposals that allow scanning of ‘known content’ while claiming to protect privacy by proscribing ‘indiscriminate’ surveillance. We must also look out for those that mandate only scanning for ‘hashed images or videos,’” wrote Whittaker.

“The reality is that scanning any content before it is encrypted negates the very purpose of encryption and is a dangerous backdoor. No amount of tinkering or word games can change that inescapable reality.”

Earlier, Whittaker said that Signal would rather leave the EU market than comply with the potential new regulation, adding that protection of children is just a “guise.”

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