GoKawiilThe European Parliament has approved an urgent procedure to fast-track legislation that would revive the EU's expired “Chat Control 1.0” rules.
This development sets up a decisive vote on July 9 over whether online platforms may once again be allowed to voluntarily scan private user communications for child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
MEPs voted 331 in favor and 304 against using the urgency procedure, allowing Parliament to bypass the usual committee stage. The procedural vote does not itself reinstate the law but accelerates consideration of a proposal that would effectively restore the temporary legal framework that expired in April.
STRASBOURG: EU Chat Control 👁️🗨️
Just a few moments ago, the European Parliament approved the urgent procedure for the Chat Control extension (331 in favour, 304 against).
On Thursday, MEPs will vote on whether to allow online platforms to scan private messages. pic.twitter.com/vBgyvFCXYl — Sebastián Lukomski (@lukomski_sebito) July 7, 2026
The legislation in question is separate from the EU's long-running negotiations over the proposed Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR), commonly known as “Chat Control 2.0.” The coexistence of two different legislative files has led to confusion, as one concerns the revival of an expired temporary measure while the other seeks to establish a permanent framework for detecting and reporting CSAM.
The temporary regulation, formally Regulation (EU) 2021/1232, originally created an exemption to the ePrivacy Directive allowing providers to voluntarily scan private communications for CSAM. The exemption applied primarily to services such as Gmail, Facebook Messenger, Instagram Messenger, Skype, Snapchat, iCloud Mail, and Xbox messaging, while end-to-end encrypted services were generally unaffected unless providers chose to implement client-side scanning.
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