- Germany intends to vote against the controversial Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR)
- So-called Chat Control would introduce mandatory scanning of citizens' private chats, raising privacy and security concerns
- German Federal Justice Minister said that random chat monitoring must remain taboo
It's official – Germany is voting against the controversial Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR).
Chat Control seeks to introduce an obligation for all messaging apps operating in Europe to scan all URLs, pictures, and videos shared by their users in the lookout for child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Yet, the proposal has been attracting strong criticism for the implications on privacy and security.
On Wednesday (October 7, 2025), German Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig said that random chat monitoring must remain taboo in a constitutional state. For this reason, "Germany will not agree to such proposals at the EU level," said Hubig.
The German government nonetheless reiterated the need for progress in the fight against child pornography at the EU level.
"I am committed to this. But even the worst crimes do not justify the surrender of fundamental civil rights," Hubig added.
"A major victory for digital privacy"
The announcements come after weeks of mixed messages coming from the German government, right ahead of a crucial meeting set for October 14.
After joining the countries opposing mandatory chat scanning in September, the nation was among the countries that had been shifting their positions ahead of the important day when it went back to the undecided list.
The country has been thought to be a decisive nation, with the CSU-led Federal Ministry of the Interior reportedly putting pressure on the German Federal Ministry of Justice (SPD) to back up the law.
Massenhaftes Scannen privater Nachrichten muss in einem Rechtsstaat tabu sein. "Solchen Vorschlägen wird Deutschland auf EU-Ebene nicht zustimmen", betont Bundesjustizministerin Stefanie Hubig. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/74cWYOy9TXOctober 8, 2025
The decision to reject Chat Control has been welcomed by many.
Former MEP for the German Pirate Party and digital rights jurist, Patrick Breyer, sees the move as "a major victory for digital privacy."
Encryption is indeed the tech that the likes of Signal, WhatsApp, Proton Mail, and even the best VPNs use to scramble the content of our messages into an unreadable form to prevent unauthorized access and keep our communications private and secure.
"This is a tremendous victory for freedom and proves that protest works," said Breyer. "But the threat is not gone. The proponents of Chat Control will use every trick in the book and will not give up easily."
On a similar note, Internet Society's Senior Director for European Government and Regulatory Affairs, David Frautschy, told TechRadar: "The Danish proposal remains on the table, and its core flaw remains unchanged: it would mandate client-side scanning of everyone’s private messages, analyzing images on the sender’s device before encryption."
The EU Council is, in fact, set to meet with the EU Justice Minister on October 14. What was previously thought to be only a formal sign-off would now decide whether or not the proposal will land in the Parliament for the final trilogue negotiations.
Privacy campaigners, however, said they are ready to keep combat against any plans to weaken encryption.
"We will keep fighting until this proposal is defeated once and for all, and the privacy of our digital lives is secure for everyone," said Breyer. "Now is the moment to support the civil rights organizations that made this victory possible, so we are prepared for the fight ahead."
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