The European Parliament has fast-tracked legislation that could reinstate rules allowing online platforms to scan private user communications. MEPs voted 331 to 304 to use an urgent procedure, bypassing standard committee review for a proposal that would revive expired "Chat Control 1.0" rules. This procedural vote accelerates a decisive vote scheduled for July 9, which will determine if platforms can again voluntarily scan messages for child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

The revived measure, formally Regulation (EU) 2021/1232, originally provided an exemption to the ePrivacy Directive for services like Gmail, Facebook Messenger, and iCloud Mail. While it generally excluded end-to-end encrypted services unless client-side scanning was implemented, the framework expired in April 2026 after negotiations collapsed. The Council of the European Union has since pushed to reinstate it, a move critics like former MEP Patrick Breyer decry as an attempt to resurrect rejected legislation.

This expedited process is distinct from the ongoing negotiations for the permanent "Chat Control 2.0" (Child Sexual Abuse Regulation). Disagreements persist over broad, suspicionless scanning versus targeted detection with judicial authorization. Thursday's vote on the temporary framework's revival will proceed independently of these stalled discussions, potentially reintroducing voluntary scanning capabilities while the EU grapples with a permanent solution.