Overview
- Lawmakers approved prolonging the temporary exception to the e‑Privacy rules until 3 August 2027 after it was due to end on 3 April 2026.
- Parliament adopted Amendment 5 to allow scanning only in targeted, specified and restricted cases based on a well‑founded suspicion identified by a competent judicial authority.
- The position rules out indiscriminate mass screening and preserves end‑to‑end encryption, with detection confined to already known child sexual abuse material rather than grooming text analysis.
- The extension still requires agreement with EU governments and the Commission, which had sought a longer prolongation to April 2028 and favor broader powers.
- Separate talks on the permanent CSA Regulation continue and could still mandate wider scanning regimes that might reach encrypted communications.