Germany on Wednesday outlined its opposition to a proposed EU "chat control" regulation to police online messages in order to fight child pornography, reported dpa.
"Unprovoked chat control must be taboo in a constitutional state," said Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig.
She argued that private communication should never be under general suspicion, and that the state should not force messaging apps to scan messages for suspicious content even before they are sent.
"Germany will not agree to such proposals at EU level," added Hubig, ending speculation over the position of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's administration on the issue.
EU member states are discussing the controversial plan at the ambassador level on Wednesday.
The legislative proposal, initiated in 2022, provides for authorities to be able to scan messages and photos on messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Signal and others for child pornography content, evading encryption.
The plans have been met with widespread criticism by data protection organizations and messaging apps.
If an agreement is reached, EU ministers could vote on the bill early next week, ahead of a vote in the European Parliament.
Germany's refusal to back the proposal is significant, as votes from populous countries within the bloc carry significant weight.
Irene Mihalic from Germany's Greens on Wednesday described the proposal as an encroachment on fundamental rights and freedoms, warning that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) would not ensure effective protections against child pornography.
"Even the planned AI systems, if you look at it, have extremely high error rates and would produce millions of false reports, which would also mean a massive burden for the investigating authorities," argued Mihalic. "And the actual cases would probably get lost in the data heap."
- EU
- EU ‘chat control’
- Germany
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
