Credit: digitalescapetools.com
The European Parliament has approved an extension of temporary rules allowing online platforms to continue voluntarily scanning unencrypted user communications for known child sexual abuse material until April 2028, despite criticism of the procedural process from across the political spectrum.
The legislation extends the EU’s temporary ePrivacy derogation, first introduced in 2021, which allows companies including Meta and Google to detect and report known child sexual abuse material in communications that are not protected by end-to-end encryption, News.Az reports, citing Helsinki Times.
The measure had already failed once.
In March, MEPs voted against extending the temporary regime, causing the legal basis for voluntary scanning to expire on 3 April after negotiations with EU member states reached deadlock.
The proposal returned to Parliament after President Roberta Metsola requested that negotiations be reopened, allowing the file to come back for another vote under the Parliament’s second-reading procedure.
That procedure requires an absolute majority of all Members of the European Parliament, rather than only those voting, to reject or amend legislation.
On Thursday, 314 MEPs voted to reject the proposal, while 278 voted against rejection and 17 abstained. Although more MEPs opposed the extension than supported it, opponents failed to reach the 360-vote threshold required to block the legislation, meaning the proposal was approved.
The procedure immediately prompted criticism from several MEPs, legal experts and digital rights organisations, who argued that Parliament’s earlier decision had effectively been overturned through a procedural mechanism rather than a change in political support.
According to Euractiv, several MEPs involved in the negotiations said they had not been informed in advance that Metsola intended to ask EU leaders to restart the legislative process, despite her office later saying she acted following discussions among political group leaders.
Civil society organisations also criticised the decision.
Simeon de Brouwer of the European Digital Rights network (EDRi) told Euractiv it was “impressive to see the European Parliament being backstabbed by its own president”.
Rand Hammoud of the Centre for Democracy and Technology Europe said the decision should concern anyone who values Parliament’s institutional integrity because the largest political group had used its influence to force another vote on legislation that had already failed, Euractiv reported.
Supporters of the legislation argue the temporary rules remain an important tool in detecting child sexual abuse material while negotiations continue on a permanent legal framework.
They say police authorities and child protection organisations rely on reports generated by online platforms to identify victims and investigate offenders.
The legislation does not require companies to scan communications, but provides a legal exemption allowing providers to continue voluntary detection of previously identified child sexual abuse material without breaching EU privacy rules.