EU Council shelves vote on proposed ‘Chat Control’ law, here’s why

A vote by European Union (EU) countries on considering proposed legislation to tackle online child sexual abuse material (CSAM) has now been delayed after the move came under heavy criticism from tech companies and digital rights groups alike.

Members of the European Council were originally expected to take a decision on Thursday, June 20, about jointly supporting a 2022 draft amendment that would require instant messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Signal to mandatorily scan users’ photos, videos, and links before they were sent to recipients.