In 2022, European lawmakers proposed new rules with the noble intent to protect children. However, this law allows authorities to have anyone's legitimate conversations monitored.
In doing so, it harms everyone, including those it wants to protect. No one can be protected by making the internet less secure.
New evidence shows that 80% of young people aged 13 to 17 years old from 13 EU Member States would not feel comfortable being politically active or exploring their sexuality if authorities were able to monitor their digital communication, in order to look for sexual abuse.
Your private chats will be scanned. You won't able to share anything remotely intimate without the risk of your messages, photos and videos ending up in the hands of some governmental institution.
The technology is known to fail. And as a result, you may be accused of being a (child) sexual offender without having done anything wrong.
We can't afford to get it wrong. We all agree: child sexual abuse is a horrendous act. As a society, we shouldn't waste our effort to tackle this issue on actions that are proven to be ineffective and harmful.
Charalampos Kyritsis
Young activist, Greece
Dorothée Hahne
Deputy chairperson of MOGiS e.V., an organisation of victims of sexual child-abuse
Anne Herpertz
Chairwoman Pirate Party Germany
If we work together, we can protect children whilst upholding confidentiality and security online.
Get the latest news from the Stop Scanning Me campaign and find out how you can contribute to making the internet a safe place for all.
The lawyers who are responsible for advising EU Member State governments warn of "a serious risk that it [the CSA Regulation] would be found to compromise the essence of the rights to privacy and data protection", would undermine encryption, and would allow "general and indiscriminate access to the content of personal communications" by companies.
Read moreThe study concludes the existing CSA Regulation draft violates the prohibition on general data retention and the prohibition against general monitoring obligations, in a way in which it "cannot be justified".
Read moreAn open letter currently signed by over 450 scientists around the world warns decision-makers against the proposed CSA regulation. Academics cite harmful side-effects of large-scale scanning of online communications which would have a chilling effect on society and negatively affect democracies.
Read moreThe European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) warn of serious data protection and privacy concerns, serious risks for fundamental rights.
Read moreThe UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk speaks against EU's plans to search all private messages and photos without suspicion, using error-prone algorithms.
Read moreThe Board points that the CSA proposal is not sufficiently clear on how measures for detecting new child sexual abuse material/grooming would respect the prohibition of general monitoring obligations and on whether they are even efficient.
Read moreThe EU's European Social and Economic Committee (EESC) shows CSA proposal comes with measures of "disproportionate nature", warns about the "risk of widespread monitoring of all virtual exchanges", questions the approach of "a general sweep of hosting and communication services" and "asks the Commission to make the text better and more specific in order to safeguard secrecy of correspondence and respect for privacy".
Read moreMembers of the European Parliament ring the alarm on EU Commission proposal: "Mass surveillance of digital correspondence specifically would cause widespread uncertainty, distrust and unrest among citizens and businesses".
Read moreThe German "Chatkontrolle STOPPEN!" campaign
The Danish "Chat control" coalition
Get the latest news from the Stop Scanning Me campaign and find out how you can contribute to making the internet a safe place for all.
