Notes | Brutkey

Fight Chat Control
@chatcontrol@mastodon.social

The European Commission is pushing hard to extend Chat Control 1.0 - allowing mass scanning of private messages without court orders for another two years. Contact your MEPs TODAY via https://fightchatcontrol.eu/ to defend your privacy and digital rights!

Fight Chat Control
@chatcontrol@mastodon.social

Important update Thanks to the sheer volume of citizens raising their voices in opposition, the Danish Presidency has been forced to update its Chat Control compromise text to include the following recital:  "(17a) Nothing in this Regulation should be understood as imposing any detection obligations on providers."   The final proposal 15318/25 containing recital 17a is now heading for Coreper (Committee of Permanent Representations). Once approved, the position formally adopted by Council will thus exclude mandatory scanning. Council is expected to officially adopt its position the 18th or 19th. We should then expect trilogue to commence. Next steps While this presents a “quick fix” in response to public pressure that legally is not a good solution, it is a much better position than before and one that can be worked with. The multiple flaws and inconsistencies that remain (e.g. mandatory age verification effectively outlawing anonymous communication and planned “voluntary” mass scanning) can be amended during trilogue with the European Parliament. While Danish Minister of Justice and Chief Architect of Chat Control Peter Hummelgaard, and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, are likely to attempt an expedited process, a deal is unlikely to be reached in December. They will likely try to complete the deal in Q1 of 2026. As negotiations commence, contact your MEPs and let them know how you would like them to vote and protect your codified rights to privacy.

Fight Chat Control
@chatcontrol@mastodon.social

What happened today?

Behind closed doors, the Law Enforcement Working Party group approved the revised Danish Chat Control compromise with broad support. While mandatory scanning had officially been dropped, Article 4 of the new text reframes and reintroduces it by obliging providers of e-mail, chat, and messenger services to take “all appropriate risk mitigation measures”. This effectively forces providers to scan all messages, including private, end-to-end encrypted content.

The same article outlaws anonymous communication by requiring every citizen to verify their age before accessing a service, kneecapping whistleblowers, journalists, political activists, and people seeking help who depend on anonymity. Article 6 further imposes a digital house arrest and would ban minors from installing software which comes with a significant risk of grooming, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and online games like Roblox.

What happens next?

The legislation now moves to the Coreper (Committee of Permanent Representations) for approval. Without major political objections, the Council will formally adopt its position. At this stage, both the Council and Commission unite in imposing mass surveillance on all 450 million citizens of the European Union and we enter a rushed trilogue. Unfortunately, while the mandate of the European Parliament does not suffer from the same flaws, the Parliament is traditionally known for giving in.

What now?

We raise our voices. Louder.

Fight Chat Control
@chatcontrol@mastodon.social

MEPs

🇵🇹 João COTRIM DE FIGUEIREDO
🇵🇹 Ana VASCONCELOS

🇧🇪 Tom VANDENDRIESSCHE
🇧🇪 Barbara BONTE
🇧🇪 Gerolf ANNEMANS

🇩🇪 Sebastian EVERDING

are OPPOSED to Chat Control.

Fight Chat Control
@chatcontrol@mastodon.social

MEPs

🇩🇰 Anders VISTISEN
🇫🇮 Aura SALLA
🇸🇪 Jonas SJÖSTEDT
🇸🇪 Hanna GEDIN

are OPPOSED to Chat Control.

Fight Chat Control
@chatcontrol@mastodon.social

Dutch MEPs

🇳🇱 Brigitte VAN DEN BERG
🇳🇱 Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY
🇳🇱 Raquel GARCÍA HERMIDA-VAN DER WALLE

and Maltese MEPs

🇲🇹 Alex AGIUS SALIBA
🇲🇹 Daniel ATTARD
🇲🇹 Thomas BAJADA

have all confirmed their OPPOSITION to Chat Control.

Fight Chat Control
@chatcontrol@mastodon.social

All Permanent Representations have now been added to https://fightchatcontrol.eu/ and will automatically be included in outgoing emails. A central function of a Permanent Representation is to negotiate proposed legislation, such as Chat Control, on behalf of its government. They should hear your voice, too!

Fight Chat Control
@chatcontrol@mastodon.social

Update:

MEP 🇩🇰 Sigrid FRIIS is OPPOSED.

MEP 🇩🇰 Christel SCHALDEMOSE is SUPPORTING.

Answers are pending for the remaining 9 Danish MEPs.

MEP 🇮🇪 Aodhán Ó RÍORDÁIN is preparing a response.

Fight Chat Control
@chatcontrol@mastodon.social

All representatives on https://fightchatcontrol.eu/ have been contacted directly via e-mail to confirm their stance and reasoning on supporting or opposing the proposed Chat Control legislation. All responses will be published as they arrive under the relevant names and can be seen by clicking the "More" button on a specific MEP. Due to summer vacations, most MEPs are expected to return August 24/25th with responses, hopefully, to follow.

Fight Chat Control
@chatcontrol@mastodon.social

Search functionality has been added to https://fightchatcontrol.eu, making it easier to quickly identify what your MEPs think about the proposed Chat Control legislation.