European Parliament Prepares Fresh Vote on Controversial 'Chat Control' Legislation
The European Union is poised to reconsider controversial 'chat control' legislation, with parliamentary members scheduled to cast their votes on the measure this Thursday.
Parliamentary members across the European Union are preparing for another vote on disputed legislation that opponents have labeled "chat control," a framework that would grant technology companies permission to scan private messages in search of child sexual abuse material.
This Tuesday saw the European Parliament approve a seldom-utilized urgent procedure that will compel lawmakers to cast ballots on Thursday regarding the extension of this legal framework, which reached its expiration date in early April.
"Today's vote violates our own rules of procedure, the European Parliament decided to use an urgent procedure for Chat Control 1.0," Pirate Party MEP Markéta Gregorová said on Tuesday. "This means that on Thursday, we will once again vote on extending the derogation that allowed online platforms to scan our private communications."
Thursday's scheduled vote has the potential to resurrect the "chat control" regulations that have sparked significant opposition from privacy advocates and cryptography experts, given that technology companies would be required to scan messages protected by end-to-end encryption.
Following the legal framework's expiration in April, messaging services including WhatsApp have been permitted to implement their own voluntary measures in efforts to identify those distributing abusive material.
Rejecting proposal requires absolute majority
According to Gregorová, blocking or modifying the proposal will necessitate an absolute majority consisting of 361 votes within Parliament.
Tuesday's vote passed by a narrow margin, recording 331 votes in favor, 304 votes against and 11 abstaining.
During March, Parliament voted down a temporary extension of the scheme that had been proposed by the European Commission while deliberations continued on a new version of the law, with the vote tallying 311 against, 228 for and 92 abstaining.
According to reporting by Euronews on Tuesday, the most recent proposal was brought back by the European People's Party, Parliament's largest group, which had predominantly voted in opposition to the measure during March due to amendments that limited the scope of the chat scanning provisions.
Nevertheless, European People's Party leader Manfred Weber has been seeking methods to advance the extension without incorporating changes.
"The European People's Party is abusing its position as the largest political group to bring back, through a procedural loophole, a proposal that Parliament had already rejected," Gregorová said. "This is unprecedented."
Last month, EU member states reached an agreement to restore an interim "chat control" measure, a framework that would grant service providers the authority to detect, report, and remove abusive material through 2028.