Petition: Alliance strongly warns EU states against adopting chat control
The Global Encryption Coalition warns: EU heads of state and government endanger user security with plans to inspect encrypted messaging services.
(Image: Tero Vesalainen/Shutterstock.com)
In a petition launched by the Global Encryption Coalition, an alliance of various organizations, security experts and IT companies is mobilizing against the Belgian EU Council Presidency's latest "compromise proposal" on chat control. The compromise "continues to stand for the use of scanning technologies for encrypted messaging services and other disproportionate restrictions on digital rights", the open letter states. This is incompatible with the principle of end-to-end encryption and puts users at risk. Client-side scanning (CSS) – the scanning and extraction of private communications directly on users' end devices – should also not be prescribed.
Content recognition is a red rag for a number of member states, emphasizes the steering committee of the Global Encryption Coalition, which includes the Internet Society, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) and Mozilla. They had therefore previously spoken out against CSS and therefore against general surveillance. Belgium has now renamed this approach "upload moderation". However, this is "a purely cosmetic change, as the security and legal concerns expressed by experts regarding client-side scanning are still not dispelled". This would not solve the problem of online distribution of child sexual abuse material. Rather, it would "create considerable security risks for all citizens, companies and governments".
In addition to numerous members of the Encryption Alliance, other organizations such as Access Now, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), European Digital Rights (EDRi), Privacy International and messaging providers such as Signal have also signed the petition. It is also open to further signatures from individuals. According to the Presidency's latest drafts, CSS should only be applied to visual content such as photos and videos, as well as URLs. Users would also have to consent to this form of monitoring. Otherwise, they would still be able to chat – but would no longer be able to send images and videos.
Let yourself be monitored - blockade in the Council wobbles
In today's digital society, sharing images and clips is an everyday activity, the petitioners emphasize. If the user has no real choice, feels forced to consent or is de facto excluded from the service, there can be no question of the voluntary consent that is actually required. Furthermore, the proposal is not expedient and could easily be circumvented. Photos or videos could simply be embedded in another file type, such as a text document or presentation. According to the Council, fully encrypted messenger services such as WhatsApp, Signal and Threema should be scanned as a priority.
One reason for the signatories' increased concern: at the first presentation of the revised Belgian paper on 8 May, several previously critical governments welcomed it. France supported the Presidency's proposal in principle, according to a leaked dispatch from the German government. The initiative appears to be "going in the right direction". Poland spoke of a "path to a compromise". Both countries were previously part of the blocking minority against the planned regulation on chat control. With their support, the Council could still agree on a common position in the next few days and start negotiations with the EU Parliament on a common line after the European elections. The MEPs have already staked out their course - with a no to CSS.
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