The European Parliament cleared the way for a renewed extension of the so-called “Chat Control” on Tuesday afternoon. With a narrow majority of 331 to 304 votes and eleven abstentions, the MEPs voted for an urgency motion that Parliament President Roberta Metsola had put on the agenda at short notice at the behest of the member states and the EPP group. This allows Parliament to vote again on the controversial plan on Thursday, its last session before the summer break.
The aim of this maneuver: to reinstate the transitional regulation for Chat Control, which expired in April. This exception regulation allowed tech giants like Meta, Google, or Microsoft to voluntarily search private chats, emails, and messenger services for material related to child sexual abuse without specific suspicion. Parliament had not agreed to a renewed extension, and the regulation had therefore expired in April.
The vote was preceded by a back-and-forth, with opponents calling it an unprecedented parliamentary maneuver. Pirate MEP Markéta Gregorová accused the conservative European People's Party (EPP) of engaging in a farce and violating its own rules of procedure. She appealed in vain to her colleagues to vote against Chat Control again. Metsola narrowly defended the procedure, stating she was adhering to all rules.
Social Democrats cave in
Supporters received backing through pressure from the EU Commission. Four Commissioners had urgently warned the people's representatives in a letter shortly before the vote about a continuing regulatory gap. Without the scans, perpetrators would not be held accountable, and almost all abuse material would remain undiscovered – even though Meta & Co. are currently still providing reports. Parliament could not go into the summer break like this, according to the EPP.
AfD MEP Mary Khan, on the other hand, complained that a law that had already been rejected was being revived through the back door using salami-tactics until the desired outcome was achieved. No one wants to weaken child protection, but that should not justify putting all citizens under general suspicion and legitimizing mass surveillance. In fact, Parliament had rejected a renewed extension of this Chat Control by a clear majority in March and April after failed negotiations with the EU member states.
The fact that the dossier is now landing in the plenary again at the urging of the governments and the Parliament President is also causing frustration among the negotiators. Rapporteur Birgit Sippel (SPD) spoke of an unfair maneuver by the EU countries and refused her support. Nevertheless, the Social Democratic group caved in beforehand and signaled its approval for the urgency procedure, which ensured the necessary majority.
Procedural tricks until the last session day
The procedure now chosen gives the proponents of Chat Control a significant tactical advantage. Since the law is in its second reading, an absolute majority of 361 votes of all parliament members is required for amendments or a renewed rejection on Thursday. In contrast, a simple majority of the MEPs present is sufficient for the other side. As many parliamentarians have historically already departed by the last day before the summer break, the re-enactment of the regulation is considered almost unavoidable.
Had the MEPs rejected the urgency, the draft would have gone to the responsible Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, where a legally sound compromise could have been worked out after the summer break.
IT security researchers have repeatedly warned in urgent letters about unacceptably high error rates of the AI scans used, which endangered the privacy of innocent citizens. A board member of the Society for Informatics even filed an urgent application with the Federal Constitutional Court. Civil rights activists like Patrick Breyer even fear that the renewed transitional status will relieve political pressure on EU governments to engage in a much more effective and targeted permanent successor regulation to the blocked Chat Control 2.0.
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