In the wake of the ePrivacy Directive derogation expiring, four internet giants (Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Snapchat) announced on Saturday, 4 April, that they would be maintaining their voluntary scanning measures to detect and remove online child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
After the failure of interinstitutional negotiations aiming to extend the current framework (see EUROPE 13829/19), the platforms are lambasting the EU’s “inaction” and “irresponsible failure” to ensure the legal certainty of their detection tools. Pending the adoption of a permanent legislative framework—such as the CSAM regulation currently being discussed by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU (see EUROPE 13841/7)—they are reaffirming their commitment to continue their voluntary actions to “prevent and disrupt real, ongoing harm to victims and survivors”.
Asked to respond to the press release on Tuesday, 7 April, the European Commission refused to comment on the legality of such an initiative. While it acknowledged that proactively scanning online material is “the only way to find out about the abuse”, it nevertheless stressed that “the protection of our children should not be subject to autonomous business decisions by companies” and that it must be based on “clear and binding rules”. It has therefore called on co-legislators to “dramatically speed up their work on the long-term solution”.
Moreover, the current legal vacuum is also worrying civil society. In a statement published on 1 April, a coalition of 247 organisations working to protect children’s rights condemned what it described as a “deeply alarming and irresponsible gap in child protection”, calling on European legislators to put an end to this “political deadlock” as quickly as possible.
The press release from the digital platforms: https://aeur.eu/f/lge and the press release from the NGOs: https://aeur.eu/f/lgf (Original version in French by Justine Manaud)