Brussels wants to seal a deal on message scanning on Monday. The Council backed off mandatory monitoring, but the dispute over encryption remains

On Monday, June 29, the European Union will try, after years of negotiations, to conclude the contentious regulation against the abuse of children online, which critics have dubbed "Chat Control 2.0." However, the texts currently under negotiation no longer introduce mandatory blanket scanning of all messages, as some social media posts warn — the Council of the EU has in the meantime backed off mandatory scanning and is pushing a "voluntary" scheme meant to protect encryption, meaning Signal and WhatsApp would not have to search through the communications of all users. The dispute has thus narrowed down to the question of whether even "voluntary" scanning might create surveillance without exception, and according to digital rights organizations, the deal could slip past the summer due to delays. Czechia is among the states holding back.

What is being decided on Monday

The Cypriot presidency has scheduled what is likely the final trilateral negotiation (trilogue) between the Parliament, the Council, and the Commission for June 29. However, the organization European Digital Rights (EDRi) warns that the negotiations are already facing delays and that "a summer deal is becoming increasingly uncertain." If the text is not closed on Monday, the file will drag on further. EDRi ↗

The Council backed off, the Parliament wants narrow limits

The Commission's original proposal envisioned mandatory scanning even within encrypted apps. In its position, the Council removed the mandatory "detection orders" and is proposing a permanent "voluntary" scheme similar to the temporary exemption from 2021, with the text, according to EDRi, not meant to force companies to weaken encryption. EDRi ↗

The Parliament, for its part, insists that scanning should only be narrow — based on "reasonable suspicion of a criminal offense" and with judicial authorization, not blanket scanning. It confirmed this line back in March as well, when it voted by a wide majority (458 in favor, 103 against, 63 abstentions) for a strictly limited form of the temporary exemption and also pushed through safeguards for verifying users' age. EU Perspectives ↗

Why this isn't "scanning everything" — and why it's still concerning

This is precisely why the most alarming claims circulating online — including versions claiming that someone has "steamrolled" the European Parliament and that mass surveillance will begin on Monday — are exaggerated. The current texts from both the Council and the Parliament declare protection of encryption. The critics' real concern is more subtle, but serious: that "voluntary" scanning of private messages itself — backed by risk assessments and age verification — is a problem and could become the norm over time. TechRadar ↗

Czechia holds back, Germany and Denmark are shifting

Member states are divided. According to EDRi, those rejecting mandatory scanning include Poland, the Netherlands, and Czechia — the closest signal for Slovak and Czech readers as to where the game is breaking. Conversely, Denmark, which initially pushed for mandatory scanning, backed off last November, and Germany, according to EDRi, reportedly withdrew its earlier data-protection objections. EDRi ↗

The face of opposition in the Czech space remains MEP Markéta Gregorová. The paradox of France rejecting a police backdoor at home while pushing surveillance forward in Brussels we covered in a separate article.