Dear friends and colleagues,
We have achieved a major milestone, but it is now being threatened by an unprecedented institutional ambush.
The Good News: In the 29 June trilogue, Parliament’s negotiators held the line. They honored their mandate on the permanent Child Sexual Abuse regulation, insisting that only suspects’ chats may be scanned via court order. This was a massive win for privacy and the rule of law.
The Crisis: In a move described by diplomats as "without precedent," EP President Metsola (EPP) and the Council are attempting a procedural coup to bypass this democratic progress. They are moving to reinstate the expired “Chat Control 1.0” (mass scanning) through a "Second Reading" backdoor—ignoring the fact that the European Parliament already voted to reject this extension twice in March (by a clear majority of 311–228).
The Procedural Trap: Why We Must Act Before Tuesday
The Council has adopted its position today (seemingly all but Italy in favour) to reinstate voluntary mass scanning for two years - untargeted and including AI analysis of unknown visuals and texts.
The EPP and parts of the S&D are attempting to force a calculated "Urgency" procedure to rubber-stamp this next week. Here is why this is a trap:
- The 361-Vote Wall: In the second reading stage, the Parliament can only amend or reject the Council’s text with an absolute majority (361 votes). This threshold has never been reached on this controversial file.
- The Holiday Ambush: They are pushing for a Vote to make this a matter of Urgency this Tuesday at 12:00. If it passes (by relative majority), the final vote will be scheduled for next Thursday—the very last day before summer recess. With many MEPs traveling, it will be mathematically impossible to reach the 361 votes needed to stop mass scanning.
- Automatic Adoption: If the Parliament fails to reach 361 votes in the final vote to reject or amend, the mass scanning law is automatically adopted even without Parliament’s consent.
If urgency passes: mass surveillance is reinstated.
Democracy loses.
If urgency is rejected, the file goes back to committee for proper
democratic scrutiny and a real chance to stop it.
The "Emergency" is a Myth
Proponents claim companies will stop scanning. This is a lie.
- The German government reports no connection between the volume of reports and expiry of the derogation because the volume is volatile anyway. Companies continue scanning anyway — even after legal expiry.
- Only 36% of reports come from private message scanning; most come from public posts and cloud storage, which remain unaffected. Effective tools remain, including warrants for targeted interception and user reports.
- Europol's Operation Alice recently shut down 373,000+ pedocriminal sites without mass chat scanning. The Commission itself admitted: There is no proven link between scanning private messages and actual convictions or child rescues.
- This is not an emergency; it is a tactical maneuver to strip the Parliament of its leverage.
What is at Stake?
- Fundamental Rights: Indiscriminate scanning of private messages and AI-driven analysis of your private texts and photos without a court order. Your private messages scanned by AI algorithms with up to 20% error rates. 75% false positives (300,000 flagged and leaked EU chats/year).
- Democratic Integrity: If leadership can simply "repeat" votes and use procedural tricks until they get the result they want, the European Parliament ceases to be a democratic body.
- Negotiating Power: Reinstating the old regime now would destroy the Parliament’s leverage in the permanent trilogue negotiations.
- For children: False sense of security replacing actual
protection. Resources diverted from real investigations to
processing 75% garbage data. No improvement in safety; only
expansion of surveillance.
Shadows from S&D, Greens and Renew have already opposed this manoeuvre. We need broader mobilisation now.
How You Can Help
We have a realistic chance to stop the urgency on Tuesday with a simple majority. We need every activist and NGO to move now:
- Direct Lobbying (High Priority): Phone the
offices of MEPs—specifically ECR, S&D, Renew, and
EPP moderates. Emails are easily ignored; phone calls
from civil society create ripples.
- The Ask: "Vote AGAINST the request for urgent procedure on the SIPPEL report on Tuesday at 12:00."
- Public Pressure: Issue press releases and social media alerts TODAY. Frame this as an "unprecedented attack on democratic procedure" and a "coup against Parliament’s own votes."
- Mobilize Your Network: Direct your supporters to use the tool at fightchatcontrol.eu to contact their representatives immediately.
The Deadline: Tuesday, 12:00 PM CET.
If we win the simple majority on Tuesday, the file goes back to the LIBE Committee for proper scrutiny, and we kill the "holiday ambush." If we lose Tuesday, mass surveillance will likely be reinstated by default next Thursday.
Let’s stop this outrageous attempt to reintroduce mass surveillance through the back door.
Best regards
Patrick
Attaching the e-mail that can be sent via fightchatcontrol.eu for your information:
Dear Representative,
I am urgently writing to you following reports of an
unprecedented attempt to reinstate the expired "Chat Control
1.0" Regulation (2021/1232) as early as next week.
This temporary derogation allowed indiscriminate mass scanning
of our private messages without a court order. It rightly
expired on 4 April, after the European Parliament voted to
reject an extension (2025/0429) by a clear majority of 311 to
228.
Media report that Council and parts of the European Parliament,
including EP President Metsola, are seeking to overturn this
democratic decision by using a 2nd reading procedure that does
not require the Parliament's consent. Diplomats have described
Metsola’s invitation to Council as “without precedent.” I find
this shocking and deeply troubling for the credibility of
Parliament. Please reject this attempt to reintroduce mass
surveillance through procedural tricks and vote AGAINST the
request for urgent procedure on the SIPPEL report on Tuesday at
12:00! This most controversial proposal, changes to which need
an absolute majority in the 2nd reading, must be voted after the
recess when all MEPs have returned.
In the 29 June trilogue, Parliament's negotiators honoured their
mandate on the permanent Child Sexual Abuse regulation,
maintaining that only suspects' chats may be scanned with a
court order. However, the permanent regulation could be
jeopardised if Council now gets its core demand of reinstating
indiscriminate scanning through this back door. The expiry of
the interim derogation is Parliament’s only meaningful leverage
to pressure Council into accepting a new approach that relies on
security by design, proactive cleaning of the Internet, and
targeted scanning. Reinstating the previous regime now would
fatally weaken Parliament’s negotiating position.
WHAT IS AT STAKE
Mass scanning of private chats is as unacceptable as opening
everyone’s postal mail. The lapsed derogation allowed the US
tech industry to scan the private messages of 450 million
Europeans without suspicion. It is not for tech companies to
decide who is a suspect or not. I refuse to be treated like a
criminal just for being online. This violates our right to
privacy and confidentiality of correspondence under the EU
Charter of Fundamental Rights. The Council’s own legal service
stressed this on 10 June.
Even without the derogation, effective tools remain fully
intact: warrant-based surveillance, user reports, and scanning
of public content and cloud storage. Only 36% of suspicious
activity reports from US companies originated from private
message scanning, and report numbers have not significantly
decreased as a result of the expiry of the derogation, according
to the German Federal Criminal Police Office. Europol's
Operation Alice recently shut down over 373,000 pedocriminal
sites without mass scanning private chats.
MASS SCANNING FAILS TO PROTECT CHILDREN
The European Commission admitted (COM(2025)740 final) there is
no proven link between scanning private messages and convictions
or rescuing children. Perpetrators bypass scans by switching
platforms. Children and survivors deserve effective protection,
not symbolic measures that create a false sense of security.
THE TECHNOLOGY DOES NOT WORK
Technical flaws are severe. AI analysis has an error rate up to
20%, according to the Commission. Hash matching for ‘known’
material is also unreliable and easily evaded. It relies on
opaque foreign databases rather than European criminal law. The
algorithms are blind to context and lack of intent (e.g.
consensual sexting between teenagers). The result: According to
former Commissioner Johansson, 75% of flagged chats (300,000
reported EU chats per year) are not actionable. This floods
authorities with false reports and diverts resources from real
investigations.
A QUESTION OF DEMOCRACY
The European Parliament voted twice against extending mass
scanning. I want to believe the vote of my representatives
matters – how can votes be repeated and procedures changed until
the result is right? As shadow rapporteurs from across political
groups have pointed out, reopening this rejected file is a
political dead end that undermines Parliament's position on the
permanent regulation. The European Data Protection Supervisor
and civil society emphasise that we need targeted solutions
based on the rule of law, not the constant renewal of
disproportionate and ineffective mass surveillance systems.
Parliament chose a better path with the 2023 mandate for
targeted investigations and security by design. Please do not
support attempts to overturn or undermine this mandate. The
upcoming vote will show whether Parliament stands by its own
decisions and defends its institutional authority.
Please defend citizens' fundamental rights by voting AGAINST the
request for urgent procedure on the SIPPEL report on Tuesday at
12:00! This most controversial proposal, changes to which need
an absolute majority in the 2nd reading, must be voted after the
recess when all MEPs have returned. Please oppose the Council
text that would enable untargeted mass scanning of our private
messages.
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]
[Optional: profession / background, e.g. “software engineer”,
“parent of two children”, etc.]