EU Parliament to vote on urgency of Chat Control extension

Background of Chat Control

At the end of March, the parliamentary vote on an extension failed because, according to the wishes of a large majority of members, controls should only be possible in cases of concrete suspicion. "Das Vorhaben, die zeitlich befristete Ausnahme von europäischen Datenschutzregeln zu verlängern, galt daher als gescheitert."

EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola brought new momentum into the debate when, at the EU summit in mid-June, she "surprisingly" spoke out in favor of "erneut an einer politischen Einigung für eine Übergangslösung zu arbeiten". She is identified in the report as the President of the EU Parliament.

Metsola launches new attempt

"Vertreter der EU-Staaten und Abgeordnete verhandeln hierzu bereits seit Monaten." Now, the EU member states have once again spoken out in favor, by means of a decision, of allowing online platforms to search private communications via an exemption, according to a communication. "Damit kann sich das EU-Parlament nun erneut dazu äußern."

However, the EU states have so far not been willing to agree to restrictions limiting scanning to cases of concrete suspicion. "Solchen Einschränkungen wollten die EU-Staaten bisher allerdings nicht zustimmen." The conflict between data protection and child protection therefore remains on the table.

Dispute between EU states and Parliament

"Zunächst sollen die Abgeordneten am Dienstag in Straßburg darüber abstimmen, ob das Vorhaben in einem Dringlichkeitsverfahren behandelt werden soll." According to the report, Parliament is dealing with the transitional solution again in a second reading.

"Im Falle einer Zustimmung könnte schon am Mittwoch oder Donnerstag eine inhaltliche Abstimmung folgen – die Verlängerung also beschlossen oder abgelehnt werden." This means the tug-of-war over Chat Control could be provisionally decided as early as this week.

The conflict between the EU states and Parliament has been ongoing for months. Representatives of the member states and members of Parliament have been negotiating a permanent solution for months now. Should the urgency procedure fail to find a majority on Tuesday, it remains unclear how and when the European Parliament will debate the transitional regulation again.

What is up for vote in Strasbourg

The issue touches on a fundamental conflict: on the one hand, protecting children from sexual abuse on the internet, and on the other, protecting private communication. EU data protection rules fundamentally prohibit the reading of private messages, which is why the exemption must be given special legal justification.

Should Parliament vote in favor of the urgency procedure on Tuesday, the substantive vote on extending Chat Control could take place as early as Wednesday or Thursday. If the urgency is rejected, the timetable would remain open and the conflict would drag on.

(APA, 2.7.2026)