The EU apparently wants to take a step back in the dispute over the chat control law. As Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard told the media, the obligation for online services to automatically recognize such content will not be pursued further. Instead, they want to stick to a voluntary solution.
Denmark currently holds the presidency of the EU Council and, according to Hummelgaard, has now distributed a revised discussion paper to member states to explore the possibilities for a compromise. The aim is to reach an agreement before the current legal basis expires. The current regulation does not provide for any obligation, but only allows voluntary controls. However, this requirement expires at the end of April.
Peter Hummelgaard (Image: EU)
The EU Commission’s original plan stipulates that platforms such as messenger services or cloud providers can be obliged to automatically search their users’ content for indications of abuse, even if it is protected by end-to-end encryption. The backdoor required for this would reduce full encryption to absurdity and amount to a profound breach in data protection and freedom of communication. Critics also fear that the associated surveillance options will also be used improperly.
Open questions remain
The proposal from Denmark may initially let critics of chat encryption breathe a sigh of relief, but it raises new questions. Instead of mandatory mass controls, responsibility for possible checks should in future lie with the providers.
The lawyer and former MEP from the Pirate Party Patrick Breyer describes the Danish initiative as a triumph of the digital freedom movement and a great leap forward in defending our digital privacy of correspondence, but sees new problems associated with it. It is also questionable in what form “voluntary” monitoring by providers can be compatible with the protection of user data. Breyer also points out that the new proposal still includes the ban on anonymous use of email or messenger services.
