After noting at the beginning of October that it did not yet have the qualified majority of Member States required on the issue of removing child sexual abuse material from the Internet, the Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union intends to relaunch the work, once again taking inspiration from the ideas put forward by the previous Polish Presidency (see EUROPE 13726/21).
With time running out and the interim legislation allowing platforms to voluntarily monitor and remove such content from their services, including encrypted messaging services, expiring in April 2026, the Danish Presidency intends to propose a new approach that does not include mandatory detection orders, but maintains the voluntary regime allowing technology companies to track down child sexual abuse material, reported diplomatic sources on Thursday, 30 October.
This approach would require suppliers to carry out a risk assessment, and voluntary detection would be a possible mitigation measure. It would maintain the other elements of the proposal, such as the possibility of issuing blocking and deletion orders, reporting obligations and the creation of a European centre dedicated to combating child sexual abuse material.
The Danish Presidency would like to introduce a review clause into the future regulation, so that the Commission can assess the need and feasibility of including detection obligations at a later date, taking account of technological developments, as previous presidencies have also suggested.
The Danish authorities will sound out the Member States at a forthcoming meeting of their ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) and, depending on their verdict, will propose a new compromise along these lines in November. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)