European Parliament President Roberta Metsola just asked EU member states in the Council to adopt a temporary CSAM scanning law that her own chamber voted down 311-228 with 92 abstentions. Diplomats called the move “without precedent.”
Here is the short version: Metsola invited ambassadors to proceed with the Council’s first reading position on a bill that lets tech companies voluntarily scan for child sexual abuse material. The Parliament killed it in March after months of negotiations collapsed. Now she is going over their heads.
The Procedural Power Play
The Council note, dated June 22 and seen by POLITICO, explicitly says the Cyprus presidency asked capitals to “carefully consider” the invitation “even if this would be without precedent in the present circumstances.” That is diplomatic code for: this is not how this is supposed to work.
Metsola called publicly for a second-reading agreement last week. But the Parliament has already spoken. Lawmakers on the file were “extremely surprised” (Markéta Gregorová, Czech Green MEP) and called the move “unacceptable and undermines the European Parliament position.” Hilde Vautmans, Belgian Renew MEP, said reopening debate on the temporary law is a “political dead end” - Parliament rejected it twice.
Why Encryption Advocates Should Care
At stake is whether the EU forces a legal basis for scanning encrypted messages. The temporary law lapsed in early April, leaving companies without a legal basis for voluntary scanning - though they kept scanning anyway. Privacy campaigners argue the proposal leads to mass surveillance and the end of encryption. Police and child rights advocates counter that predators operate with impunity without it.
This is not a technical debate about how to scan. It is a raw political fight over whether to give tech platforms a green light to break encryption voluntarily. The Parliament voted no. Metsola is trying to bypass that.
What Happens Next
If capitals adopt their position, the Parliament gets a second reading. But Gregorová’s mandate is clear: “A majority voted it down, meaning that we reject the extension.” If the Council and Parliament keep disagreeing, they could head to a rare conciliation procedure. Lawmakers meet next Monday to negotiate the permanent CSAM bill, but a deal there is unlikely.
Either way, the encryption vs. child safety standoff just got a procedural jolt. The Council will weigh the invitation on Friday. If they take it, expect the most consequential EU institutional clash over digital surveillance in a decade.
Source: European Commission's Metsola Overrides MEPs to Force Through Chat Control
Domain: politico.eu
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