It has been on the agenda of European ministers for over three years: A bill that would give authorities the power to force platforms such as WhatsApp or Signal to monitor all messages from their users. What are the latest developments?

What does the bill say?

For several years now, representatives of the member state governments ("the Council”) have been negotiating a European Commission proposal to protect children and young adults from sexual abuse. Of course, this is a noble goal. But this proposal is horribly flawed. The government could force platforms, such as WhatsApp and Signal, to monitor messages of users who are not suspected of anything. On top of that, this type of monitoring cannot be done without circumventing or weakening the encryption of these services. This is lousy for everyone, including the very people the proposal is intended to protect.

The Netherlands and Germany

The Dutch government has a voice in these negotiations as well. The Netherlands declared that they are unable to support the proposal. In doing so, the government is following the stance of the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service ("AIVD"): “The risks to digital resilience are too great” when circumventing encryption. Fortunately, there is no reason to assume the position of the Dutch government has changed. However, this does not mean we do not have to worry. Germany has a new government and it is unclear how they feel about the proposal. Will it remain strongly opposed, or will they turn to the camp of the proponents.

Secret negotiations

Should the German government agree with the new compromise then it likely means that the opposition in the Council will no longer be able to block the proposal at this stage. The next step, in that case, will be secret negotiations between the Council, the European Parliament, and the European Commission. It is unclear how these negotiations would turn out. What is certain is that this would bring us one step closer to the moment when these draconian measures become a reality.

Alternative to bickering

Something else is needed in our opinion. The European governments have been negotiating this controversial proposal for over three years now. A proposal for measures that conflict with the agreements that were made in Europe regarding human rights. Even if the proposal is adopted, it would be declared invalid by the European Court of Justice within a few years. And who knows where we will stand then. Will the children and young adults, that this proposal is intended to protect, be helped? Of course not. Therefore, we urgently appeal to policy makers: go back to the drawing board and focus on early intervention. That is the only way to truly help children and young people.