400 scientists speak out against chat control

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For the third time since 2023, scientists from European research institutions have written an open letter against EU plans for so-called chat control. In the letter to the EU Commission and European Parliament, around 400 researchers warn of negative consequences for security and fundamental rights.

Chat control breaks encryption

The researchers comment on the latest drafts for a regulation on chat control. The aim is to make it mandatory to search for child sexual abuse content on devices such as smartphones, which, according to the researchers, would undermine any end-to-end encryption and other methods of device security.

According to the researchers, such mechanisms represent a “single point of failure,” i.e., a starting point for malware, for example. Furthermore, these detectors are not reliable enough: “Existing research results confirm that state-of-the-art detectors have unacceptably high false-positive and false-negative rates.”

AI is not a solution either

AI is not a solution either because, among other things, it cannot recognize which parties are sending explicit material to each other. The scientists refer here to teenagers who might send each other data. In addition, today's AIs offer a large target for manipulation, which criminals could then exploit to circumvent the mechanisms.

Furthermore, a de facto end to encrypted chats would also have side effects on people who need to communicate confidentially. The researchers mention politicians, law enforcement officers, journalists, and human rights activists. They are dependent on tools such as Signal, which has already announced its withdrawal from the EU if chat control is implemented.

The researchers doubt that the spread of abusive content could be significantly prevented by the control on end devices. Rather, it would depend on education, sensitized reporting offices, and targeted searches for such content. In the long term, only the containment of abuse itself would also bring about the spread of the documentation of these crimes.

Support not only from Europe

The signatories of the open letter include over 400 scientists from 33 countries, not just EU member states. They include mainly technical universities, but also employees of institutions such as the Max Planck Institute or the Fraunhofer Society. There is also support from the USA, Canada, Israel, and Taiwan.

Some institutions mentioned do not directly support the demands but give their scientists the freedom to speak out publicly. The CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security from Germany, among others, pointed this out in a press release distributed in advance.

The loosely organized scientists, who have not yet come together under an initiative with their name, have already written similar letters to the EU three times since 2023. With 400 signatories, the new letter has the most support to date. The scientists are taking up the Commission's current proposal after the failure to agree on a compromise in May 2025.

(nie)