A majority of European Union (EU) member states are pushing a proposal dubbed “Chat Control.”
Thus far, 19 out of the 27 EU member states support a proposal which would mandate that messaging platforms, including WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram, must scan every message, photo, and video sent by users, even if end-to-end encryption is in place, French tech blogger Korben wrote on Monday.
Instead of weakening encryption, the proposal seeks to implement client-side scanning, meaning software embedded in users’ devices that inspects content before it is encrypted.
“A bit like if the Post Office came to read all your letters in your living room before you put them in the envelope,” Korben said.
Korben added that the real target isn’t criminals, who use encrypted or decentralized channels, but ordinary users whose private conversations would now be open to algorithmic scrutiny.
