Negotiations between the Council of the EU and the European Parliament on the draft regulation on the removal of child pornography content from the Internet (‘CSAM’) will begin on Tuesday 9 December.
On 26 November, the Council of the European Union reached an agreement on this dossier, which the European Commission had presented in 2022, by removing the mandatory content detection orders imposed on private messaging platforms and service providers (see EUROPE 13760/11).
The European Parliament adopted its report in 2023, retaining mandatory detection orders based solely on a court decision and targeting users already known for offences relating to child sexual abuse content. The Commissioner for Home Affairs, Magnus Brunner, told the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties on Thursday 4 December that he was disappointed by the weakened mandate, which now only provides for voluntary detection, and he indicated his preference for the European Parliament mandate.
While the legislative derogation currently allowing platforms to carry out voluntary detection expires in April 2026, the Commissioner also said he was prepared to propose an extension decision to avoid a legal vacuum while awaiting the new regulation. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)