Surveillance made in the EU: Dobrindt avoids a clear no to chat control

Following the change in the federal government from the traffic light coalition to a black-red coalition, fundamental rights activists fear that the new federal government could give in to the long-standing dispute over chat control at EU level. An answer from Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) to a parliamentary question has now fueled these concerns.

The EU Commission launched its draft regulation on mass online surveillance under the banner of combating child sexual abuse as early as mid-2022. With the associated chat control, it wants to be able to force providers of end-to-end encrypted messaging and other communication services such as WhatsApp, iMessage, Signal and Threema to track down abuse photos and videos in their users' messages. Secure encryption is therefore likely to be a thing of the past. In contrast to the EU Parliament, the member states were unable to agree on a common position on the project despite several years of debate.

In response to a question from Jeanne Dillschneider, Chairwoman of the Green parliamentary group in the Bundestag Committee on Digitalization, the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) has now emphasized that the fight against the sexual abuse of children and young people is a "top priority", according to the Frankfurter Rundschau (FR). The aim of the EU regulation to create a "clear, permanent legal basis in line with fundamental rights" is therefore to be welcomed. In addition, there is the assurance that the EU will "continue to work for the greatest possible protection of all fundamental rights affected".

Strong appeal to Dobrindt

"The German government is deliberately avoiding answering the question" of potential approval for chat control in the EU Council of Ministers, Dillschneider criticizes the vague statement to the FR. The German executive must make a clear commitment to "combining effective child protection and the protection of digital privacy – instead of playing the two off against each other".

The previous Polish Council Presidency recently failed with its initiative to convert the current transitional regulation on voluntary scanning for abuse into a permanent authorization. This would have removed mandatory chat controls from the table. The new Danish Council Presidency, which has been in office since the beginning of July, wants to press ahead with reaching an agreement on a common line on the regulation.

So far, there is a blocking minority of states in the Council that oppose chat control. In addition to Germany, these include the Netherlands, Poland, Austria, Sweden and Slovenia. The German government is seen as the tip of the scales. If it gives in, there should be little standing in the way of a Council decision. The "Stop chat control!" alliance, which includes the Chaos Computer Club (CCC), Amnesty International and the German Informatics Society, made an urgent appeal to Dobrindt as recently as mid-June. In an open letter, the civil society initiative called on the minister to protect encryption for society and to take action against chat control. This would not be compatible with European fundamental rights and the German constitution.

(nen)