Press Release: CDT Europe Sounds the Alarm on Potential European Council General Approach to Draft EU CSA Regulation

(BRUSSELS) — On June 13, the Justice and Home Affairs Council will decide on their negotiating position for the EU Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR), in order to commence negotiations with the European Parliament. The Belgian Presidency will present a progress report on the Regulation, and EU Home Affairs Ministers will be asked to support the text negotiated by the Law Enforcement Working Party, which will be then put for a final vote by the Ministers on June 19.

The Centre for Democracy & Technology Europe (CDT Europe) calls on Ministers to reject the Belgian Presidency’s proposal, given the risks it poses to privacy and fundamental rights, including those of children.

CDT Europe has expressed serious concerns about the current text, in particular that its scope  includes encrypted services. Its dependence on inherently unreliable technologies will undermine privacy, and coerce users into consenting to generalised scanning of their communications. These methods pose a particular risk to human rights defenders, journalists, and others who rely on secure technologies to conduct their vital work.

Silvia Lorenzo Perez, Director of CDT Europe’s Security, Surveillance & Human Rights Programme, commented: “We’re alarmed that the Presidency is seeking to adopt the Council’s General Approach without properly alleviating the multiple concerns and criticisms identified by a multitude of actors, including its own legal service.”

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