EU Parliament Extends Chat Control Derogation Amid Procedural Controversy (heise.de)

• EU Parliament votes 314-276 to extend chat control derogation
• Procedural trick used to rush vote before summer break
• Commission evaluation shows minimal effectiveness and high false positive rates
• Amendments exclude end-to-end encryption and client-side scanning
• Critics call it a black day for civil rights

"The European Parliament voted on July 9, 2026, to extend the temporary derogation from the ePrivacy Directive that allows tech companies to scan private chats without suspicion for child sexual abuse material. The vote passed after a procedural maneuver by the center-right EPP group, bypassing the usual committee process. Critics argue the measure enables mass surveillance with minimal effectiveness; an EU Commission evaluation found only 0.00000077% of scanned messages contained illegal material. Amendments protect end-to-end encryption and prohibit client-side scanning. The extension lasts approximately two years."