Chat Control: Why the EU Wants to Scan Everyone’s Messages
The EU’s “Chat Control” law proposes scanning ALL private messages—yes, even encrypted ones—on every major messaging app. The goal: fight child abuse. The cost: privacy, security, and digital freedom for 450 million people.
Introduction: Is Private Messaging Over?
Imagine every message you send—WhatsApp, Signal, Instagram, SMS—being scanned by government-mandated algorithms. Sounds like a dystopian sci-fi? That’s the reality behind the EU’s latest push: the so-called “Chat Control” law, officially the Regulation to Prevent and Combat Child Sexual Abuse (CSAR).
The EU’s Chat Control proposal aims to scan everyone’s messages on apps like WhatsApp and Signal.
The goal is noble: stop child exploitation. But critics warn the means are reckless—turning the EU into the world’s first “surveillance-by-default” region.
How Would Chat Control Work?
- All-encompassing scanning: Messaging platforms would be legally forced to scan all private messages (text, images, videos, audio) for illegal content—even if those chats are encrypted.
- AI detection: Algorithms would look for suspicious images, grooming conversations, or code words. If a message triggers a flag, it could be sent to authorities—sometimes before any human review.
- Client-side scanning: Even “end-to-end encrypted” apps would have to build tools to check messages before they are sent, breaking the core promise of digital privacy.
- Everyone is a suspect: There’s no targeting—all EU residents’ chats would be checked, not just those under suspicion.
Why Is This Law So Controversial?
- Privacy destroyed: Experts, tech firms, and privacy groups agree: mass scanning is “general monitoring,” violating EU fundamental rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
- Breaks encryption: You can’t “scan” encrypted messages without weakening or breaking encryption—making it easier for hackers, criminals, or authoritarian governments to snoop too.
- False positives & errors: AI scanning is not perfect. Memes, private photos, or innocent chats could trigger investigations, putting regular people at risk.
- Slippery slope: Once the tech exists, what stops the EU (or others) from scanning for more—copyright, dissent, politics?
Even the EU’s own data protection authorities, most security experts, and a long list of child safety organizations have warned: “This law does more harm than good.”
Why Not Just Scan Children’s Accounts?
Critics—including top privacy experts and several governments—say the EU should target protection where it’s needed: on children’s accounts and their contacts. Instead, the current proposal treats all 450 million EU residents as suspects.
- Age-targeted solutions: Platforms already have age checks and parental controls. Focusing resources here is safer and more effective.
- Law enforcement logic: The EU claims criminals might lie about age. But that doesn’t justify surveilling everyone, all the time.
- Expert consensus: Real-world policing targets suspects. This law reverses that logic, with huge collateral damage.
Status: How Close Is Chat Control to Becoming Law?
- Summer 2025: Denmark’s EU presidency is pushing for a vote by October 14, 2025.
- Majority support? As of August, 19 of 27 EU states back it—Germany is undecided and could make or break the law.
- Public backlash: Protests by privacy groups, tech industry, and digital rights activists across Europe.
- Not law—yet: If Germany supports it, Chat Control could pass by autumn 2025. If not, it may be blocked or weakened.
The Fix-EU Take: Smarter Ways to Protect Children
- Focus on real suspects: Use existing police tools, tip lines, and targeted surveillance for credible threats—not everyone at once.
- Strengthen platform controls: Improve age verification and parental controls, so kids are safer without mass scanning.
- Defend encryption: Privacy is a right, not a privilege. Don’t undermine it in the name of “safety.”
- Be transparent: Let citizens, not just Brussels bureaucrats, have a say before rewriting privacy for the whole continent.
- Is Chat Control already law? No. As of August 2025, it’s a proposal under negotiation in the EU Council and Parliament.
- Will my messages be scanned? If passed, yes—by default, on most major platforms.
- Can I avoid it with encryption? No. Even encrypted apps would have to scan messages before sending.
- Is there any public debate? Yes—widespread protest from privacy experts, tech firms, and citizens.
Final Thoughts
Chat Control is one of the most radical surveillance proposals ever seen in the West. The goal of protecting children is urgent and real—but treating every European as a suspect is not the answer.
If you value privacy, freedom, or just the right to chat in peace, now’s the time to speak up—before Brussels rewrites the rules for everyone.