Watch: Momentum proposal outlines detailed measures to protect children without mass surveillance
Momentum has published a new position paper offering a detailed, targeted alternative to the European Union’s controversial “chat control” regulation (COM(2022) 209). The paper argues that the EU’s mandate to scan all private communications threatens fundamental rights to privacy and free expression, and presents a comprehensive framework to protect children more effectively.
The alternative strategy first focuses on protecting children directly with default-on, receiver-side protections for their accounts. Key measures include:
- Safe-by-default settings for child accounts: Automatically blurring images from unknown contacts, blocking high-risk links, and requiring parental consent for group invitations.
- Targeted grooming detection: Applying classifiers to detect solicitation patterns only in conversations involving a verified child account.
- Privacy-preserving age verification: Using modern cryptographic methods to verify a user’s age without revealing their identity.
To combat the criminal distribution of abusive material among adults without resorting to mass scanning, the paper advocates for targeted, rights-respecting enforcement actions, such as:
- Rapid removal at the source: Strengthening obligations for hosting providers to swiftly remove identified illegal material.
- Targeted network blocking: As a last resort, using ISP-level blocks (Internet service providers) against non-cooperative, non-EU hosts.
- Warrant-based investigations: Empowering law enforcement to pursue criminals with court-authorised operations instead of scanning everyone.
Mark Camilleri Gambin stated “By implementing these specific measures, the proposal demonstrates that it is possible to protect children effectively while upholding the fundamental right to private communication for all citizens.”
The full position paper, detailing the technical and legal framework of the proposed alternative, is available for review on the link below:
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