Protecting children without mass surveillance

The protection of children from sexual abuse and grooming online is a critical priority that demands urgent, effective action. However, the European Parliament’s current attempt to force through an extension of “Chat Control 1.0 directive”, one which was already refuted by Parliament, using an urgent procedure loophole to bypass standard democratic scrutiny, is deeply alarming. Despite not breaking end-to-end encryption, the proposal remains a calculated move to sneak in mass surveillance under the guise of child safety because it grants Tech companies indiscriminate power to undertake client-side scanning of all communications.

If we want to take the protection of our children seriously, we must implement targeted, effective solutions without delay, rather than default to a general solution that treats every citizen as a suspect.

Momentum’s position is clear and rests on the following foundational principles:

1. No blanket generalised scanning

There must never be a blanket, generalised scan of private communications. Stripping away the fundamental right to privacy from millions of innocent citizens is neither proportionate nor acceptable in a democratic society. Such a power must most definitely not lie with the tech companies.

As the European Data Protection Supervisor has repeatedly stressed, measures to combat child sexual abuse must include effective safeguards against general and indiscriminate scanning, ensuring that fundamental rights are not bypassed and that the principles of necessity and proportionality are upheld.

The European Commission’s own evaluation concluded that the available evidence was insufficient to fully assess whether the benefits of voluntary message scanning justified its impact on the privacy of millions of Europeans.

2. Empower parents with opt-in, receiver-side protection

Safety tools should be in the hands of those who need them. We advocate for an opt-in model that parents can enable on their children’s devices with clear safeguards.

• Because children in grooming and abuse scenarios are on the receiving end of malicious chats, they (and their devices) have full, decrypted access to the messages in question.
• Allowing parents to opt-in to automatic, receiver-side scanning on a child’s account is a highly effective way to intercept predators and block harmful material at the source, without breaking end-to-end encryption for the rest of society.
• When this opt-in control is active, there must be a clear, persistent visual indicator on the screen. This ensures that children are fully aware of their privacy limits and understand that their device is currently being monitored for their safety.

3. Transparency with open-source algorithms

Any automated scanning algorithms deployed for these opt-in protections must be open-sourced.

• The code must be available for rigorous public scrutiny by independent cybersecurity and privacy experts to ensure it does not overreach.
• The algorithms must conform to a strictly defined, transparent technical interface to prevent “mission creep” (the repurposing of the scanning infrastructure for other types of surveillance).

Momentum’s General Secretary, Mark Camilleri Gambin said “When deploying technology that overlaps with fundamental privacy rights, ‘trust us’ is not an acceptable standard. It’s important to note the hypocrisy in being skeptical of non-european big tech, but then granting them such sweeping powers.

The algorithms used for opt-in protections must be fully open-source. Without public scrutiny of the code and a strictly defined technical interface, we open the door to mission creep and the inevitable repurposing of these tools for state and private surveillance.”

4. Warrants and judicial oversight for non-consenting users

Where a user has not opted in, the principles of justice must apply. Law enforcement access to private communications must be strictly warrant-based, requiring prior judicial oversight. 

Authorities must demonstrate reasonable, individualised suspicion to a judge before intercepting or scanning a suspect’s chats. Bypassing the courts to rely on corporate, algorithmic mass-scanning is a violation of due process.

The EP proposed targeted detection in March, however due to the urgency procedure these amendments are likely to be removed.

The way forward

Momentum notes with great concern the unprecedented way that Robert Metsola, President of the European Parliament, has pushed through the changes currently before Parliament and the Council of Europe, as reported by Politico. We stress that any decisions taken related to European citizens’ privacy cannot be rushed, thus ensuring freedom from lobbying by private and foreign interests.

We therefore urge MEPs to reject the extension of indiscriminate scanning and to immediately adopt a framework built on targeted, opt-in protections and strict judicial oversight. Momentum representatives will always fight to safeguard the privacy of Maltese citizens while ensuring robust child protection online. This commitment is reflected throughout our proposals. 

If we are serious about child safety, we must implement solutions that are effective and transparent. We cannot accept anything else.

There is hope, you can help!

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