The EU Council seems to agree to the new compromise “without further changes”

The EU Council has received new Chat Control proposal with broad support
CSAM scanning would now be voluntary, but with some exceptions
Lawmakers met today (November 12) for further discussion

It’s official, a revised version of the CSAM scanning proposal is back on the EU lawmakers’ table − and is keeping privacy experts worried.

The Law Enforcement Working Party met again this morning (November 12) in the EU Council to discuss what’s been deemed by critics the Chat Control bill.

This follows a meeting the group held on November 5, and comes as the Denmark Presidency put forward a new compromise after withdrawing mandatory chat scanning.

As reported by Netzpolitik, the latest Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR) proposal was received with broad support during the November 5 meeting, “without any dissenting votes” nor further changes needed.

The new text, which removes all provisions on detection obligations included in the bill and makes CSAM scanning voluntary, seems to be the winning path to finally find an agreement after over three years of trying.

Privacy experts and technologists aren’t quite on board, though, with long-standing Chat Control critic and digital rights jurist, Patrick Breyer, deeming the proposal “a political deception of the highest order.” Chat Control − what’s changing and what are the risk

As per the latest version of the text, messaging service providers won’t be forced to scan all URLs, pictures, and videos shared by users, but rather choose to perform voluntary CSAM scanning.

There’s a catch, though. Article 4 will include a possible “mitigation measure” that could be applied to high-risk services to require them to take “all appropriate risk mitigation measures.”

According to Breyer, such a loophole could make the removal of detection obligations “worthless” by negating their voluntary nature. He said: “Even client-side scanning (CSS) on our smartphones could soon become mandatory – the end of secure encryption.”

Breaking encryption, the tech that security software like the best VPNs, Signal, and WhatsApp use to secure our private communications, has been the strongest argument against the proposal so far.

Continue Reading - https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/this-is-a-political-deception-new-chat-control-convinces-lawmakers-but-not-privacy-experts-yet

  • verdi@feddit.org
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    6 hours ago

    Denmark is a Nepocracy that survives thanks to selling its EU influence to the US in exchange for preferential treatment for its companies and immunity from prosecution by US courts for its citizens when doing business abroad. They had their first foreign bribery prosecution in 2019 and not much budged since. That’s becsuse companies like Mærsk are crucial to the Danish economy, so cheating others to bring wealth inland is fine. It’s a modernization of the raping and pillaging of the viking barbarians, just a coat of paint really.

    Most danes have no clue this is the reality and truly beliebe there is no corruption in their country so I mostly blame the elites for the status quo.