29 April 2024
Today, the EU Council adopted a regulation prolonging an interim measure to combat online child sexual abuse. The interim measure will be extended until 3 April 2026.
Main elements
The regulation which was adopted today sustains a derogation from data protection rules in the electronic communications sector which allows providers of so-called number-independent interpersonal communications services (e.g. messaging services) to use specific technologies for the processing of personal and other data to detect online child sexual abuse on their services, to report and to remove it.
The prolongation also forsees that, in order to obtain comprehensive reporting and comparable statistics, providers should make the information about the reports of detected online child sexual abuse that they submit to the authorities and the Commission available in a structured format.
Next steps
The regulation enters into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the EU. It is directly applicable in all member states.
Background
The derogation, first agreed in 2021 and now extended until 3 April 2026 will bridge the gap until a new EU law, currently on the table of the Council and the European Parliament, offers a long-term legal framework for the detection of online child sexual abuse.
Source – EU Council: Visit the meeting page