The European Parliament has amended the Council’s position on temporary rules allowing electronic communications providers to voluntarily detect online child sexual abuse material and grooming.
Under the changes approved on Thursday, communications protected by end-to-end encryption would be excluded from the scope of the legislation. The Parliament’s position will now return to the Council, which has three months to accept or reject the amendments.
What the temporary exemption covers
The exemption allows electronic communications services to voluntarily detect child sexual abuse material on their platforms, as well as attempts to approach children for sexual exploitation.
Providers would also be permitted to remove and report relevant content found in private communications on their services.
The measure is intended to prevent a legal gap while negotiations continue on permanent EU legislation to combat online child sexual abuse.
Parliament moves to protect encrypted communications
MEPs voted to amend the Council’s position by excluding communications where end-to-end encryption is already applied, has previously been applied or is expected to be applied.
As the proposal was being considered at the European Parliament’s second reading, an absolute majority of all MEPs, currently 360 votes, was required to reject or amend the Council’s position.
In an initial vote, 314 MEPs supported rejecting the Council’s position, while 276 voted against and 17 abstained. As the required absolute majority was not reached, the process continued on the basis of Parliament’s amended position.
A subsequent attempt to reject the amended position also failed, with 276 votes in favour, 286 against and 30 abstentions. The vote completed Parliament’s second reading.
Next steps in the legislative process
The amended position will now be sent to the Council, which has three months to approve or reject Parliament’s changes.
Should the Council fail to accept all the amendments, the two institutions will enter a conciliation process aimed at reaching an agreement on the final legislation.
The Council’s position would effectively restore an exemption that had expired, allowing providers to voluntarily identify grooming and child sexual abuse material in private communications, as well as remove and report such content.
Previous negotiations ended without agreement
Following a European Commission proposal to extend the exemption, MEPs had previously voted to narrow the scope of detection measures and require judicial authorisation.
Negotiations with the Council followed, but no agreement was reached.
On 26 March, the European Parliament rejected the Commission’s proposed extension and concluded its first reading. The temporary legislation subsequently expired on 3 April 2026, after which the Council returned the proposal to Parliament for a second reading.
Most elements of the permanent legislation addressing online child sexual abuse were agreed under the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union, although some issues remain under discussion.
Source: CNA
