Berlin, March 22 – The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has issued a stark warning that the level of protection for minors against sexual abuse will significantly decrease from April. This is due to the expiration of a transitional regulation by the European Union, which currently permits providers to search chats for child abuse depictions.
Transitional Regulation Expires on April 3
Messenger services are currently allowed to voluntarily scan chats to combat child abuse under an existing exception. However, this exception is set to expire on April 3. Negotiators from EU member states and the Parliament failed to reach a compromise on its extension.
Holger Münch, President of the BKA, expressed serious concerns in an interview with the German Press Agency (dpa): “Should the existing exception in the CSA regulation not be extended in its current form, it will have serious negative consequences for the prosecution of child and youth pornography online and for child and youth protection.”
The temporary exemption from European data protection rules has so far enabled messenger services and platforms to scan message histories to detect and report prohibited depictions of child abuse, primarily images and videos.
Drastic Decline in Tips Expected
Münch highlighted the potential consequences: “The result will be a drastic decrease in corresponding tips to law enforcement agencies, as we also experienced in the first half of 2021 after the e-Privacy Directive came into force and before the exception came into effect.”
The EU initially aimed for a long-term solution for legal requirements to protect children online. To gain time, the Commission wanted to extend the exception. However, EU member states opted for voluntary controls by apps and platforms, continuing the existing agreement with services. The exception was intended to be permanently enshrined, with the EU Commission reviewing after three years whether a provider obligation was necessary.
Federal Minister of Justice Stefanie Hubig (SPD) emphasized last autumn that she also wanted to make progress at the EU level in the fight against child pornography. At the same time, she stated: “Unwarranted chat control must be taboo in a constitutional state.”
New Images and Cybergrooming Particularly Relevant
The European Parliament recently advocated for controls limited to identified suspected users and known content. Münch, however, considers this proposal impractical.
He told dpa: “Unknown image and video files, as well as cybergrooming activities, indicate ongoing or impending abuse of minors and are therefore particularly important for the protection of children and young people and for police investigations.”
To prevent long-term negative consequences, Münch stressed that all efforts should be made to extend the interim regulation in its current form. Cybergrooming refers to the manipulation of minors online with the aim of sexually abusing them later.
Source: dpa-infocom, dpa:260322-930-848110/1
