Chat Control isn’t dead, Denmark has a new proposal − here’s all we know

• Denmark withdraws the mandatory scanning of private chats in the EU
• A new compromise could make chat monitoring voluntary instead
• Known as Chat Control, it comes as a way to halt child sexual abuse online

After months of backlash, Denmark has withdrawn a proposal that would have forced mandatory chat monitoring on all messaging services operating in Europe. Yet, the battle for private chats is still ongoing.

Nicknamed Chat Control by its critics, the Danish version of the Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR) was first halted the day before a crucial meeting scheduled for October 14 between the EU Council and the EU Justice Minister due to a lack of support.

According to the now-defunct proposal, all messaging platforms would have been required to scan all URLs, pictures, and videos shared by their users in the lookout for child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Encrypted services like Signal and WhatsApp were expected to do so before the messages were encrypted. A requirement that the likes of Signal, the best VPN providers, and other experts have warned is not compatible with how encryption works.

Now, with mandatory chat scanning off the table, Denmark has put forward a new compromise that would make CSAM monitoring voluntary.

"The new approach is a triumph for the digital freedom movement and a major leap forward when it comes to saving our fundamental right to confidentiality of our digital correspondence," commented long-standing Chat Control critic Patrick Breyer.

A former MEP for the German Pirate Party and digital rights jurist, Breyer isn't ready to celebrate just yet. While being a crucial improvement, the new Danish proposal still leaves some issues open for Europeans' privacy and security.

"Half-good proposal"

As per the text shared by the Danish Presidency, the October 30 compromise proposes removing all provisions on detection obligations included in the bill (Articles 7 to 11). These are the obligations to monitor all users' chat activities.

Voluntary CSAM scanning would then be made permanent and included in Article 4 as a possible mitigation measure.

Yet, the Danish Presidency still leaves a door open for mandatory scanning by planning to introduce a "review clause."

This would invite the Commission to "assess the necessity and feasibility of including detection obligations in the future." A process that could "lead to a new legislative proposal by the Commission," including new directives on detection obligations.

It's worth remembering that the European Commission was the first to include mandatory chat scanning in its Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR) proposal in May 2022 – as a solution to the spread of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

This, Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy at the Internet Society, Callum Voge, told TechRadar, allows for the file to be revisited in the future if new detection technologies are developed as alternatives to client-side scanning.

"This is likely a negotiation tactic from Denmark to appease hard-line Member States that have thus far supported mandated scanning," said Voge.

According to Breyer, though, this may instead be a way to "introduce mandatory Chat Control through the backdoor," rather than a real fix.

Another amendment could also require providers of high-risk services to develop relevant technologies to mitigate the risk of child sexual abuse identified in their services (Article 5).

This indicates, Voge explains, the Danish Presidency's high-level intention. Yet, without providing the details. "To say definitively, we would need to see the concrete compromise text."

What's certain, both Breyer and Voge also believe voluntary scanning may carry some security and privacy risks.

Breyer said to TechRadar: "Even where voluntarily implemented by communications service providers such as currently Meta, Microsoft, or Google, chat control is still totally untargeted and results in indiscriminate mass surveillance of all private messages on these services."

Yet, according to Voge, the important thing here is choice.

He said: "Denmark’s previous mandating of scanning would have forced everyone to use insecure services. Voluntary scanning means that users will continue to have a range of choices when it comes to the services they are using.

It remains to be seen now whether this new "half-good" Danish proposal will attract the necessary majority to reach the next stage.

After all, Poland attempted a similar route at the beginning of the year, but gave up on voluntary chat scanning in June due to a lack of votes.

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