The Riigikogu opposes the EU’s plan to monitor files in private online conversations

Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee Peeter Tali said that combating and preventing child sexual abuse was also naturally necessary on the internet, but Estonia could not agree to indiscriminate scanning of message files before they are sent.

“It is unthinkable that in the European Union we will start restricting the freedoms of our citizens and undermining their privacy,” Tali underlined. “As a preventive measure, just in case, and no matter how noble the pretext.” He added that many countries are critical of the initiative and expressed his satisfaction that the Presidency had decided at the last minute to remove the draft regulation from the agenda of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting on 14 October and put it on hold. He stressed that if the draft were to be put back on the agenda in the same form, Estonia would vote against it.

The European Commission submitted a proposal for a regulation to establish rules for preventing and combating child sexual abuse already in 2022. So far, no compromise that is acceptable to all Member States has been reached – some countries agree to greater infringement of privacy rights, while others, such as Estonia, consider the protection of privacy rights a higher priority.

Estonia supports the general objectives of the draft regulation – protecting children from sexual abuse, preventing the dissemination of such web content, and bringing perpetrators to justice – but cannot support the blanket scanning of content shared by users, such as images, videos, or web addresses. Estonia also believes that if a person refuses to give permission for scanning and is therefore restricted from accessing the service, this constitutes a violation of the principle of voluntary consent.

Minister of the Interior Igor Taro gave an overview of the position of the Government on the draft regulation at today’s sitting of the European Union Affairs Committee. The European Union Affairs Committee decided by consensus to support the position presented by the Government.

Riigikogu Press Service
Merilin Kruuse
+372 631 6592; +372 510 6179
merilin.kruuse@riigikogu.ee
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee

Link uudisele: The Riigikogu opposes the EU’s plan to monitor files in private online conversations

Source: Parliament of Estonia