Berlin (dpa) – The messenger WhatsApp, which is used by about three-quarters of the population in Germany, clearly opposes the introduction of chat control in the EU. “Despite contrary claims, the latest proposal from the EU Council presidency still undermines end-to-end encryption and jeopardizes the privacy, freedom, and digital security of all,” said a spokesperson for the Facebook group Meta, which also includes WhatsApp, to the portal Netzpolitik.org.
Criticism – but so far no threat of withdrawal
“We continue to advocate for stronger security and believe that governments worldwide should do the same,” said the Meta spokesperson. Last week, the head of the messenger Signal, Meredith Whittakerannounced that they would ultimately leave the European market if a planned EU regulation made private, encrypted communication impossible. The Meta spokesperson, on the other hand, left open how WhatsApp would respond to a possible introduction of chat control.
The dispute over chat control concerns a planned EU regulation aimed at combating the dissemination of depictions of child abuse. The regulation stipulates that private messages and photos from messaging services like WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, or Threema can be scanned for illegal content before they are encrypted and sent. The focus is primarily on checking whether it could be a depiction of child abuse.
Signal CEO Whittaker had assessed the EU plans in a conversation with the German Press Agency as an attempt to build a backdoor into the messengers. “End-to-end encryption guarantees the privacy of millions and millions of people around the world, often in life-threatening situations.” Therefore, Signal rejects chat control.
Threema also against chat control
The messenger Threema from Switzerland, which has numerous users in Germany, also opposes the proposal from the Danish Council presidency. “We remain firmly against mass surveillance in any form,” said spokesperson Philipp Rieger to Netzpolitik.org.
The European Union has been discussing the relevant rules for three years. Several Council presidencies have already failed in their attempts to find a compromise that enough member states would agree to.
If a majority is found for the proposal, an agreement with the European Parliament would still be needed. However, the potential chat control is viewed extremely critically across all political factions and sought to soften the original proposal at that time.
New proposal could be up for vote next week
The new proposal from the Danish Council presidency will be discussed by the EU states at the ambassador level over the course of the week. If an agreement emerges there, the responsible ministers of the countries could vote on it early next week. However, many states, including Germany, have not yet taken a clear position. Particularly the voices of populous countries carry significant weight and are therefore decisive. (October 6)
