EU ends temporary scans of private messages for child abuse material

A temporary EU scheme allowing social media platforms to scan private messages for child sexual abuse material has expired after the European Parliament rejected an extension, DR reports.

The measure, which permitted companies like Meta and Google to voluntarily scan users’ private communications for illegal content, was introduced as an interim solution while the EU worked on permanent legislation. However, parliamentarians voted against prolonging it, with 311 opposing the extension, 228 in favour, and 91 abstaining.

Save the Children Denmark criticised the decision, warning it would lead to fewer perpetrators being identified and fewer victims receiving help. “There will be fewer offenders found, and fewer victims found who can get support,” said Pernille Spitz, the organisation’s head of child protection. She noted that most illegal material is detected through such scans and called the EU’s move “paradoxical,” as it prevents platforms from voluntarily enhancing child safety.

Sigrid Friis, a Danish MEP from the Radical Left party, defended her vote against the extension, arguing the measure amounted to mass surveillance of ordinary citizens’ messages. “There is a fundamental legal principle that without reasonable suspicion, we should not monitor people’s private lives—whether in the physical or digital world,” she said. She added that the EU had failed to deliver a permanent solution despite years of discussion, and that any new legislation should avoid “automatic mass surveillance.”

Conservative MEP Niels Flemming Hansen, who supported the extension, argued the scans were the primary tool for detecting and stopping the spread of abuse material. “When the technology is turned off, reports will drop sharply, but the abuse won’t stop—we’ll just stop finding it,” he said, rejecting privacy concerns as a justification for protecting criminals over children.

Jesper Lund, chair of the IT-Political Association, welcomed the end of the scheme, stating: “If the state cannot conduct mass surveillance of private communications, the same should apply to American tech giants.”

The National Unit for Special Crime (NSK), Denmark’s agency combating online abuse material, did not respond to DR’s request for comment on the measure’s impact.