Overview

• A Danish-led draft on the EU Council agenda would compel client-side scanning of users’ photos, videos and linked content to detect child sexual abuse material, including previously unknown material.
• The German government has not announced its position, with a decision expected Tuesday as ministries review options before the Council meeting.
• The Chaos Computer Club, D64 and allied civil-society groups urge a firm rejection, citing systemic cybersecurity risks, threats to press freedom and chilling effects on speech.
• Experts and child-protection advocates argue the mandated detection systems are error-prone and would flood authorities with false positives that hinder effective investigations.
• Signal says it would exit the European market rather than weaken end-to-end encryption, and EDRi warns the plan could force broad age verification across digital communications services.