In a press release published on Thursday 26 March, Executive Director of Europol Catherine de Bolle expressed grave concerns regarding the expiry of the ePrivacy Directive derogation, which was confirmed by a final vote in European Parliament on that same day (see EUROPE 13837/2).
The derogation, which is due to expire on 3 April, allows voluntary detection of online child sexual abuse material (CSAM) by communications platforms.
Underlining the crucial importance of this material in criminal investigations, Ms de Bolle pointed out that in 2025, Europol processed no fewer than 1.1 million ‘CyberTips’ - files from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children - across 24 European countries.
She believes that removing the current legal basis “would result in a serious reduction of ‘CyberTip’ referrals” and “undermine the capability to detect relevant investigative leads on CSAM, which in turn will severely impair the EU’s security interests”. (Original version in French by Justine Manaud)