EU Parliament Votes to End Untargeted Mass Scanning of Private Chats
Mar 11th 2026
The European Parliament voted to end untargeted mass scanning of private messages by adopting an amendment that limits any scanning to users or groups suspected by a judicial authority, setting up urgent trilogue talks as an interim rule expires on April 6.
- MEPs adopted Amendment 5 requiring any scanning of private communications to be limited to users or groups suspected by a competent judicial authority.
- Trilogue negotiations between the Parliament, the Commission and the Council are due to begin imminently while an interim Chat Control regulation expires on April 6.
- The European Commission and most member state governments have resisted these restrictions, with Italy as a notable exception.
- The Commission's evaluation report and national policing data indicate around 99% of chat reports came from Meta and that many reports are false positives that overload police resources.
- Reported chats have fallen by about 50% since 2022 as more providers adopt end to end encryption, reducing the reach of mass scanning.
- Campaigners warn mass scanning risks criminalizing minors, fails to stop live abuse, and was pushed by tech vendors and foreign funded lobby groups seeking access to scanning technology and data.