Overview
- Signal president Meredith Whittaker told dpa the app would leave the EU rather than weaken end‑to‑end encryption or add scanning backdoors.
- The proposal would compel messaging services, including encrypted apps, to scan user content, potentially via client‑side mechanisms before encryption.
- Germany has not stated a position; the Interior and Justice ministries declined comment on internal talks, and Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger refused to take a public stance.
- EU Council legal advisers deem the current draft unlawful, and a 2024 European Court of Human Rights ruling says weakening encryption for all users violates the Convention.
- Civil society groups such as Amnesty, Reporter ohne Grenzen and the Chaos Computer Club urged Berlin to block the plan, while Denmark’s presidency advances it despite prior European Parliament opposition.