EU to introduce checks of private messaging
The European Union has approved a new rule that paves the way for inspecting citizens’ private messages and increases oversight of digital services.
On November 26, 2025, EU member states agreed on a new position regarding a draft regulation on online content, which provides for the possibility of checking users’ private messages. The decision effectively revives the initiative previously known as “chat control,” which the EU appeared to abandon earlier this year.
The compromise adopted by the EU Council removes mandatory scanning of encrypted messages, but retains the requirement for digital platforms to assess the risks of distributing child-sexual-abuse material and to apply regulator-approved monitoring measures. The document also allows “voluntary scanning” of private communications, which, according to experts, creates a loophole for pressuring companies and covertly introducing mass message inspection.
Several members of the European Parliament and human-rights organizations sharply criticized the decision. They warn that the new scheme could lead to total monitoring of private correspondence and the erosion of anonymity, including obligatory age-verification for all users. The harshest reaction came from the Netherlands, where the parliament forced the government to vote against the initiative due to the risk of creating a digital-surveillance regime.
Critics emphasize that criminals can easily bypass such mechanisms using secure channels and VPNs, while ordinary citizens using mainstream messaging apps end up at risk. Analysts note that the EU now faces a decisive choice – to protect users’ privacy or to build an infrastructure granting unprecedented access to their private communications.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that the ECHR was criticized for its ruling against Poland on the abortion ban.
