by Leo Hohmann, Leo’s Newsletter:
Under the guise of protecting children from harmful content, a highly invasive, some would say Orwellian government scheme called “Chat Control” is back on the hot burner in the European Union, with 19 out of 27 EU member states reportedly backing the measure.
According to a report by Zero Hedge, the plan would mandate that private messaging apps, including WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram, must scan every message, photo and video sent by users starting in October, even if end-to-end encryption is in place, the popular French tech blogger Korben wrote on Monday.
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
The measure was reintroduced last month by Denmark on the first day of its EU Council presidency. France, once opposed, is now in favor, Korben said, citing Patrick Breyer, a former member of the European Parliament for Germany and the European Pirate Party.
Belgium, Hungary, Sweden, Italy and Spain are also in favor, while Germany and the Czech Republic remain undecided.
If Germany decides to cast its vote with the majority, the council could push the plan through by mid-October.
Only Austria, the Netherlands and Poland have come out against the Orwellian government-surveillance proposal.
A qualified majority in the EU Council is achieved when two conditions are met. First, at least 55 percent of member states, meaning 15 out of 27, must vote in favor. Second, those countries must represent at least 65% of the EU’s total population.
Privacy critics warn of the following issues with this proposal:
• It breaks true end‑to‑end encryption
• It enables mass surveillance of ALL messages
• AI detection often misfires on innocent content
• It threatens digital privacy, dissent, and minors’ rights
The ProtectEU law, tabled this summer, pushes even further, offering the government total across-the-board decryption access by 2030.
According to the tech website CaptainCompliance.com, the EU’s Regulation on Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) detection, also known as “Chat Control,” aims to curb online child abuse through mandatory scanning of private communications. Introduced in May 2022 as “Chat Control 2.0,” it expands on voluntary scanning by services like Gmail and Facebook Messenger. It requires providers to scan chats, messages, emails, and cloud storage, breaking end-to-end encryption on platforms like WhatsApp and Signal. The goal is to boost CSAM detection reports from 1.5 million in 2021 to tens of millions, aiding prosecutions. It also includes network blocking, mandatory age verification ending online anonymity, app store censorship, and barring minors from certain platforms.
These things always start out in China and Asia, then spread to Europe.
