On 9 July 2026, the European Parliament considered, at second reading, the Council position reinstating the derogation from Directive 2002/58/EC established by Regulation (EU) 2021/1232, which permits providers of number-independent interpersonal communications services to voluntarily scan private communications for child sexual abuse material. A majority of those voting supported outright rejection (314 votes to 276, with 17 abstentions), but rejection required an absolute majority of 360 Members and therefore failed. The chamber then assembled the absolute majority needed to amend the text, adopting among other changes the exclusion of communications to which end-to-end encryption is, has been or will be applied. The Council approved the amended rules on 23 July 2026. The derogation, which had lapsed on 3 April 2026 following Parliament’s rejection of an extension in March, is thereby reinstated in amended and narrowed form until 3 April 2028.

The signatories of this statement do not question the objective of protecting children online, which is a common policy objective that we fully support. However, it is precisely because that objective is so serious that it must be pursued through measures that are effective, targeted, and compatible with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. This statement distinguishes throughout between three different elements: the generalised, indiscriminate and suspicionless scanning of private communications, which it opposes; targeted detection subject to judicial safeguards, which it supports; and the removal of known illegal material from publicly accessible services, which it urges. Only the first is in contention. This statement sets out the concerns, legal, technical, and institutional, and presents concrete alternatives for the negotiations on the permanent Regulation laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse (COM(2022) 209 final) resuming now in autumn 2026. The same principles should guide the assessment of any further initiatives on the protection of children online that the institutions may bring forward.