EU child sex abuse reporting plan stalls in parliament

The European Parliament failed on Thursday to break a deadlock over rules for how tech companies report child sexual abuse material on their platforms.

MEPs voted on a proposal that would have restored a voluntary reporting mechanism for online platforms and messaging services, but they did not reject or support it outright. Instead, they proposed amendments that would exempt encrypted messaging services.

The reporting mechanism lapsed on April 3 while EU governments and lawmakers argued over an overhaul of the system. Discussions will now return to other EU institutions and European countries, and negotiations could take months.

Some digital platforms had used the mechanism for years to voluntarily report child sexual abuse material and grooming messages. Before it lapsed, several tech companies said they would continue voluntary action and scan messages when necessary, but said they no longer had the legal certainty to support those efforts.

The European Commission proposed in 2022 to make it compulsory for platforms to detect and report abusive material and grooming. Child protection groups have supported tougher rules, while critics including the EU data protection authority have warned that the plans, nicknamed “Chat Control”, could pose a disproportionate threat to privacy.