A majority of voting Members of the European Parliament opposed the revival of the controversial “Chat Control” legislation on Thursday, with 314 MEPs voting to reject the Council’s position, 276 voting against rejection and 17 abstaining.
Despite winning a clear majority among those who cast a vote, the attempt to block the legislation failed because Parliament was voting at second reading. Under this procedure, rejecting or amending the Council’s position required an absolute majority of all sitting MEPs—360 votes, according to the European Parliament—rather than a simple majority of those present and voting.
In practice, this meant that the absence or non-participation of dozens of MEPs helped the proposal survive: votes that were never cast against the measure effectively benefited its supporters. Critics described the procedure as a political manoeuvre that allowed the legislation to advance despite being opposed by most of the MEPs who voted.
The vote followed the approval of an urgent procedure requested by the centre-right European People’s Party. EPP leader Manfred Weber had reportedly pushed for the temporary rules to be revived after Parliament rejected an earlier extension in March. On 7 July, MEPs approved the urgent procedure by 331 votes to 304, forcing the legislation back before Parliament under the more demanding second-reading rules.
The temporary legislation—officially a derogation from parts of the EU’s ePrivacy rules—allows online communication providers to voluntarily scan certain private messages and other communications for known or suspected child sexual abuse material. It also covers attempts to identify the online grooming of children.
Although its declared purpose is the protection of children, digital-rights campaigners warn that the framework gives predominantly US-based technology companies broad discretion to inspect private communications and process highly sensitive user data without a warrant or prior suspicion. Critics argue that such scanning normalises mass surveillance, produces false reports and places private correspondence in the hands of companies whose commercial interests depend heavily on collecting and analysing personal information.
The original temporary derogation was introduced in 2021 as an interim measure while the EU institutions negotiated permanent legislation against online child sexual abuse. It expired on 3 April 2026 after Parliament rejected a proposed extension in March. The Council subsequently revived the file and returned it to Parliament for a second reading. The Council’s position would reinstate the temporary framework until 2028, unless it is replaced earlier by permanent legislation.
Parliament did approve an amendment intended to exclude communications protected by end-to-end encryption. However, another amendment that would have restricted scanning to suspects identified by a judicial authority received 322 votes—again a majority of votes cast—but failed because it did not reach the required absolute threshold.
The legislation has not yet completed the full EU process. Parliament’s amended position will now be returned to the Council, which has three months to accept or reject the changes. If the Council refuses to accept all of Parliament’s amendments, the two institutions will enter conciliation negotiations in an attempt to reach a final agreement.
The European Commission has consistently supported extending the temporary framework and originally submitted the proposal for its renewal. However, the unusually strong opposition inside Parliament—where several privacy protections won simple majorities but failed only because of the absolute-majority requirement—could place renewed pressure on national governments in the Council.
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