Chat Control passed. Your move: Keep chatting where they can scan.. 👻 Or go ghost mode — no servers, no surveillance, nothing to get - the chat app that knows nothing about you

Chat Control 1 is back. Despite the European Parliament voting down the legislation twice this year, the Council of the European Union and parts of the Parliament today managed – through an urgent procedure – to extend it for another two years. The law was originally introduced as temporary legislation, so that its effectiveness could be evaluated. At the end of 2025, the European Commission itself concluded that it was not possible to determine whether the law had any measurable effect. Even so, it has now been pushed through. Some of today's amendments could have stopped the law. And a majority of the voting MEPs wanted to do so. By a margin of 314-276, the Parliament voted to reject the proposal through these amendments. However, since it was an urgent procedure, 361 votes were required. As a result, the majority lost today and Chat Control 1 was passed. The urgent procedure was a dirty play by the Council and parts of the Parliament – it’s a procedure not meant to be used on legislation already rejected by the Parliament. For now, Chat Control 1 will remain in effect. This means that tech companies may continue scanning communications without a warrant or suspicion. However, the real battle is Chat Control 2. Unlike Chat Control 1, it would require all providers to scan communications, and to do so far more extensively than Chat Control 1 ever has.

🇪🇺 EU PARLIAMENT FAILS TO BLOCK CHAT CONTROL 1.0, EXTENSION TO 2028 MOVES FORWARD The European Parliament failed to block the extension of “Chat Control 1.0,” allowing voluntary scanning of certain private, unencrypted communications to continue until 2028 or until a permanent replacement is agreed. A majority of voting MEPs backed ending the regime, but the motion fell short of the required 361 votes, failing 314-276. Former MEP Patrick Breyer called the result “a farce,” arguing it undermines democracy and delays a more targeted child protection framework. The transitional framework permits voluntary scanning of private, unencrypted messages by providers such as Gmail, iCloud, Instagram, Discord, Snapchat, Skype and Xbox messaging to detect child sexual abuse material. Critics argue the system has produced large numbers of false reports while failing to demonstrate measurable improvements in prosecutions or child rescues. Negotiations on the permanent “Chat Control 2.0” proposal are set to resume in September.

🇪🇺 EU ambassadors agreed to move ahead with a temporary extension of the legal framework allowing platforms like #WhatsApp# and #Messenger# to scan for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) — despite the @Europarl_EN already voting against it in March. The move, proposed by the Cypriot presidency of the Council of the EU, would be "unprecedented in the present circumstances where the European Parliament has rejected the Commission's proposal." Cyprus is now inviting member states to adopt a first reading position by June 29. Critics warn the push amounts to the Council trying to override parliamentary will. Activist group Fight Chat Control is urging users to contact their MEPs and national representations — calling it an attempt to advance mass surveillance under the guise of child protection.

Mass surveillance and censorship are escalating in many countries right now. There is a global attack on secure encrypted communication. Often, authorities, politicians, and tech companies work together to push for new laws. One example: when Ashton Kutcher (yes, the actor), through his tech company Thorn, tried to introduce total surveillance of all EU citizens through undemocratic and corrupt methods. First, Ashton Kutcher convinced the EU Commission that they could scan everything on an EU citizen’s phone or computer (messages, photos, emails, phone calls, all of it) for child sexual abuse material without, at the same time, looking at the content of other types of communication. And then? And then EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson presented the legislative proposal called Chat Control, which aimed to scan everything on all EU citizens' phones and computers (including conversations in end-to-end-encrypted messaging services). The message from the Commission was: we will only search for child sexual abuse material (CSAM). And then? And then experts from all over the world explained to her that the kind of scanning she was talking about (as Ylva described it: a drug-sniffing dog that can detect illegal content in a message without reading the message) simply cannot be done safely, and that Chat Control would mean the end of privacy and pose a security threat to all Europeans. Ylva responded with: “what about the children?” And then? And then it was revealed that Thorn, the organization founded by Ashton Kutcher and which had been lobbying for Chat Control from the beginning, was selling the kind of scanning technology that could be used for Chat Control – despite being registered as a charity organization in the EU’s lobbying registry. And then? And then it was revealed that Thorn, together with the EU Commission, had also started and funded “children’s rights organizations” that had supported the proposal. What appeared publicly to be charitable organizations were in fact lobby groups. And then? And then it was revealed that Europol wanted unlimited access and wanted to use the scanning for more than just child abuse crimes, saying that all data – also unfiltered and innocent material – should be stored because it “could at some point be useful to law enforcement”. And then? And then it was revealed that employees at Europol had joined Thorn, to lobby their old colleagues. And then? And then politicians in Brussels wanted to exempt themselves from the scanning. And then? And then the European Parliament, in an almost historic consensus, voted against the proposal and called Chat Control nothing but mass surveillance. As one of the members of the parliament said: “The Commission wasn’t focusing on protecting children but wanted mass surveillance.” And then? And then The Council of the EU (law proposals must go through both the Parliament and the Council), after three years of negotiation, finally reached a common position on Chat Control. The requirement for mandatory scanning (including end-to-end encrypted messaging services) was removed, which is a major victory, but several problematic elements remain in the Council's position. For instance, the Council wants to demand ID Control to use messaging services (including end-to-end encrypted). And then? And then, in 2026 the final negotiations began, between the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the EU. At the same time, the European Commission is working on a Plan B, through the initiative Going Dark/ProtectEU, where they once again try to force total surveillance (this time organized crime is the excuse) on the citizens of the EU. And then?