GermanyThe Saxon Minister of the Interior, Armin Schuster (CDU), has called for expanding the scope of chat monitoring under an EU regulation beyond child sexual abuse to include other serious crimes such as terrorism and extremism. This request was included in a response by the Saxon Ministry of the Interior to an inquiry by the AfD faction, published in November 2025. While the response emphasized avoiding mass surveillance of innocent individuals, it suggested targeted measures with judicial approval could enhance child protection and counter severe offenses. Currently, the EU’s Chat Safety Act focuses primarily on combating child pornography, but this initiative has been temporarily halted due to concerns over end-to-end encryption. The regulation remains under negotiation between the European Commission, Parliament, and Council. Civil liberties organizations have warned that the regulation could open the door to broader surveillance, and during a recent expert hearing in the Saxon State Parliament, all attendees opposed warrantless chat monitoring and client-side scanning. They highlighted the risk of 'function creep,' where the scope of surveillance expands beyond its original aims.
Bias read (Conservative): The article presents the call for expanded surveillance as a legitimate measure for child protection and crime prevention, aligning with conservative security priorities. It frames opposition to the expansion as coming from civil liberties groups and experts, suggesting their concerns are secondary.
