EU Council Withdraws Vote on Chat Control But Negotiations Will Continue
EU member states could not reach an agreement on chat control today. The Council Presidency removed the vote from the agenda because it lacked a sufficient majority.
"In the last hours, it appeared that the required qualified majority would just not be met," an EU diplomat from the Belgian presidency told Politico.
- The issue has been postponed indefinitely. The Committee of Permanent Representatives, which meets weekly, is unlikely to secure a majority next week. Under Belgium's plan, messaging apps would scan pictures and links uploaded by users, notifying them through the terms and conditions. Users refusing this policy would be blocked from sending pictures and links.
“Without the commitment and resistance of countless individuals and organizations in Europe, the EU governments would have decided today in favour of totalitarian indiscriminate chat control , burying the digital privacy of correspondence and secure encryption. A big thanks to all who have contacted politicians and spoken out in the past few days. The fact that we have prevented the orwellian chat control for the time being should be celebrated," said Pirate Party MEP and privacy advocate Patrick Breyer.
- Starting July 1, Hungary will take over the Council Presidency from Belgium and has stated in its program that it will continue negotiations on chat control. Once EU countries agree on a joint position, they will still need to negotiate the final version of the law with the European Parliament and the European Commission.
- The Parliament has adopted a more privacy-friendly version of the law in November 2023.
Netzpolitik Article / Archive
Breyer Blog Post / Archive
Politico Article / Archive
