EU Chat Control

The EU is trying to solve a real problem: Child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on the internet. But their solution, "Chat Control", is basically a law that says: “Scan everything, everywhere, even on your device, before it's encrypted”.

Child protection is important. Platforms claim they can't see everything, especially encrypted messages. The EU wants to close that “blind spot”. End-to-end encryption is a pain. Client-side scanning is their way to spy on messages before they are encrypted.

If scanning happens on your device, client-sided, the EU can read your messaged in plain text. Thit is a backdoor, even if it's “just for CSAM”. Backdoors get exploited. The same scanners can flag hate speech, disinformation, or “unapproved ideas”, anything that the gonverment dislikes.

Encryption, the foundation of digital privacy, becomes an illusion. You can still encrypt, but only after your message is being spied on.

This is not paranoia: Every mass surveillance system ever built has been expanded beyond its original purpose. Chat Control will be not be any different, unless enough people say no before it's too late. EU security agencies and interior ministers exempt themselves from this surveillance and keep their communications private. Yet you and your family do not get the same protection.

Once the infrastructure exists, it will not stop at CSAM. Bad actors will just move to other software. Most regular users will not be moving, because "I have nothing to hide".

"But I have nothing to hide"

Yes, you do.

It sounds right: “I'm okay with being watched, as long as they watch the right people”. But surveillance doesn't work that way. It doesn't distinguish between good and bad. It just collects, builds profiles, connects dots, predicts behavior. Maybe today it flags criminals. Tomorrow it flags dissent. The day after, it flags you for a joke, a keyword, a misunderstood message. Privacy is not about hiding wrongdoing. It is about the right to define yourself, without constant oversight. It's about freedom from assumption and misinterpretation.

When you say “I have nothing to hide”, you are really saying “I'm counting on authority to behave".

Will this come 100%?

It's not 100% certain that Chat Control will come into effect. Here is the current situation:

European governments will be finalizing their positions on the proposal on September 12th, and there will be a final vote on October 14th, 2025.

Use fightchatcontrol.eu to contact your government representatives and urge them to oppose Chat Control. Even if they already oppose it, show your support to reinforce their stance. If they support it or are undecided, reach out immediately and share this article or other resources to strengthen your message.