Civil society groups oppose further extension of EU interim ePrivacy derogation
More than 40 civil society organisations and several individual experts have signed an open letter urging Members of the European Parliament to reject a proposed second extension of the EU’s interim ePrivacy derogation, citing concerns about mass scanning of private communications
A coalition of civil society organisations has published an open letter calling on Members of the European Parliament to reject the proposed second extension of the EU’s interim ePrivacy derogation, formally referenced as 2025/0429(COD).. The derogation allows providers of certain communications services to voluntarily scan private messages for child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
The signatories argue that the measure, sometimes referred to as ‘Chat Control 1.0’, permits large technology companies to scan private chats, emails and social media messages and report suspected material to a US-based centre, which then forwards cases to law enforcement authorities. They contend that the legal framework lacks a clear legal basis and adequate safeguards, and point to reporting gaps by Member States and the Commission.
The letter references the Commission’s latest implementation report, noting that a very small proportion of scanned content was identified as illegal and highlighting reported error rates in detection technologies We-say-no-to-Big-Tech-mass-snoo…. The signatories state that while combating child sexual abuse is essential, any measures must comply with privacy, data protection and proportionality requirements.
The organisations call on Parliament to reject any extension unless it explicitly excludes indiscriminate or untargeted scanning, sets strict accuracy requirements and limits the measure to a clearly defined maximum duration of one year.
The letter is signed by a range of European and international digital rights groups, professional associations and individual experts in cryptography, computer science and digital policy.
