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   Chat Control: EU lawmakers finally agree on the voluntary scanning of your   
   private chats   
      
   Date:   
   Wed, 26 Nov 2025 15:41:03 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   While welcoming voluntary CSAM scanning, scientists warn that some aspects of   
   the revised bill "still bring high risks to society without clear benefits    
   for children."   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   The EU Council has finally reached an agreement on the controversial Child   
   Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR) after more than three years of failed    
   attempts.    
      
   Nicknamed Chat Control by its critics, the agreement has kept cryptographers,   
   technologists, encrypted service providers, and privacy experts alike in   
   turmoil since its inception.    
      
   Presidency after presidency, the bill has taken many shapes. But its most   
   controversial feature is an obligation for all messaging service providers   
   operating in the EU  including those using end-to-end-encryption  to scan   
   their users' private chats on the lookout for child sexual abuse material   
   (CSAM).    
      
   At the beginning of the month, the Danish Presidency decided to change its   
   approach with a new compromise text that makes the chat scanning voluntary,   
   instead. That turned to be a winning move, with the proposal managing to    
   reach an agreement in the Council on Wednesday, November 26, 2025.    
      
   Privacy experts are unlikely to celebrate, though. The decision came a few   
   days after a group of scientists wrote yet another open letter warning that   
   the latest text still " brings high risks to society ." That's after other   
   privacy experts deemed the new proposal a " political deception " rather than   
   an actual fix.    
      
   The EU Council is now preparing to start negotiations with the European   
   Parliament, hoping to agree on the final terms of the regulation.   
      
   What we know about the Council agreement   
      
   As per the EU Council announcement , the new law imposes a series of   
   obligations on digital companies. Under the new rules, online service   
   providers will be required to assess how their platforms could be misused    
   and, based on the results, may need to "implement mitigating measures to   
   counter that risk," the Council notes.    
      
   The Council also introduces three risk categories of online services. Those   
   deemed to be a high-risk can be forced "to contribute to the development of   
   technologies to mitigate the risks relating to their services." Voluntary   
   scanning also remains in the bill.    
      
   A new EU agency is then tasked to oversee the implementation of the new    
   rules.    
      
   "I'm glad that the member states have finally agreed on a way forward that   
   includes a number of obligations for providers of communication services to   
   combat the spread of child sexual abuse material," said Danish Minister for   
   Justice, Peter Hummelgaard.    
      
   But concerns about how the agreement threatens our digital rights persist,   
   with one person on the forum, Hacker News , saying the Danish  "government    
   has today turned the EU into a tool for total surveillance, I don't know if   
   there can be any return from."    
      
   As trilogue negotiations approach, the ongoing challenge for legislators   
   remains striking the right balance between halting abuse online, without   
   compromising on fundamental rights and strong encryption .    
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/chat-control-eu-lawmakers-f   
   inally-agree-on-the-voluntary-scanning-of-your-private-chats   
      
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