STRASBOURG: The European Parliament on July 9 failed to break an impasse on how tech companies handle reporting of child sex abuse material on their platforms.
A mechanism that enabled online platforms and messaging services to voluntarily report abusive images lapsed on April 3, as governments and lawmakers squabbled over an overhaul of the system.
Members of the European Parliament were voting on a proposal that would have restored the mechanism but they did not reject or support it outright.
Instead, they put forward amendments that would exempt encrypted messaging services – a divisive topic that has long pitted privacy advocates against online safety campaigners.
Discussions will now be kicked back to other EU organs and European countries, and horse-trading could take months.
Some digital platforms had used it for years to voluntarily report child sexual abuse material as well as "grooming" messages.
Before the mechanism lapsed in April, several tech companies said they would continue to "take voluntary action" and scan messages when necessary.
But they complained that they no longer had the "legal certainty" to support their efforts.
The 27-nation bloc has spent years debating how to toughen regulations on the issue.
The bloc's executive, the European Commission, proposed in 2022 to make it compulsory for platforms to detect and report abusive material and grooming.
Though supported by several child protection groups, the plans nicknamed "Chat Control" sparked fierce debate, with critics including the EU data protection authority saying they could pose a "disproportionate" threat to privacy. – AFP
