Criticism of Austria's Approval of Chat Control

"Austria's approval of chat control is a breach of the dam. Austria was a pioneer in the fight against chat control for three years. With this approval, the government has capitulated and endangered the fundamental rights of millions of Europeans," said the Green spokesperson for digitalization and network policy, Süleyman Zorba, in a statement. The government has abandoned its previous stance against mass surveillance and taken a step towards comprehensive monitoring.

Years of Intensive Negotiations on Chat Control

The Danish EU Council Presidency decided, after years of intensive discussions, to remove the fundamental spying on private chat messages from the legislative plans to combat child pornography. Several member countries opposed this, including Austria and Germany. The Greens and NEOS had already welcomed the end of indiscriminate chat control at the EU level at the end of October as a "milestone for our fundamental rights" and a "victory for freedom."

According to the compromise, online platforms may continue to use systems to detect child pornographic content - but only on a voluntary basis and not, for example, by judicial order. In May 2022, the EU Commission proposed legally obligating internet platforms to massively spy on private chat messages to detect images of child abuse. So far, online services like Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp report offensive findings to Brussels on a voluntary basis.

Following the positioning of the EU states, the so-called trilogue negotiations with the European Parliament are underway. Only when all institutions have agreed on a common position can the law be passed and take effect.

(APA/Red)

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