Chat Control passed first round in EU Parliament

The European Parliament narrowly voted to fast-track reinstating expired Chat Control 1.0.

The European Parliament voted 331-304 to approve an urgency motion reinstating the expired Chat Control 1.0 transitional regulation. This allows tech giants like Meta, Google, and Microsoft to voluntarily scan private messages for child sexual abuse material without specific suspicion. The urgency motion, pushed by the EPP group and EU Commission, bypasses the normal committee process. A final vote on Thursday, the last session before summer break, requires only a simple majority of MEPs present, while opponents need 361 votes to block it. Critics call the procedural maneuver undemocratic, as the measure was rejected twice before.

Supporters cite a regulatory gap that leaves perpetrators unaccountable. Opponents warn of mass surveillance, unreliable AI scans, and a slippery slope toward mandatory scanning (Chat Control 2.0). IT security researchers have warned about high error rates in the AI scans.