Tech Giants Continue Private Communication Scanning Without Legal Mandate (netzpolitik.org)

• Expiration of the legal derogation for voluntary chat scanning protocols.
• Continued deployment of scanning tools by Meta, Google, and Microsoft.
• Absence of a formal legal basis for ongoing mass surveillance activities.

"The European derogation for voluntary chat control expired last weekend, yet major tech corporations including Meta, Google, and Microsoft continue to deploy automated scanning systems on unencrypted user communications. Despite the lack of a clear legal framework authorizing such mass, indiscriminate scanning, these companies are persisting with internal filtering protocols. This defiance of regulatory closure highlights significant tensions between corporate surveillance initiatives and European privacy standards. The lack of a unified enforcement mechanism allows these entities to maintain monitoring practices that circumvent standard legislative protections, posing risks to digital autonomy and user fundamental rights."