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Denmark, which holds the presidency of the European Council, said it has withdrawn a proposal that would have forced platforms such as Telegram, WhatsApp and Signal to allow authorities to screen messages before they are encrypted and sent.
The proposed law, known as the chat control lawIt was first introduced in May 2022 as a method to combat the spread of illicit and illegal content through messaging services.
A revived version of it came out this year, to critical acclaim discussing again that would undermine encrypted messaging and people’s right to privacy.
The withdrawn proposal means it will remain voluntary.
Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said the proposal now “will not be part of the EU presidency’s new compromise proposal, and that it will continue to be voluntary”, for the tech giants to screen encrypted messages, according to to a report from the Danish newspaper Politiken on October 30.
The current framework expires in April
The current voluntary framework expires in April 2026, and Politiken reported that Hummelgaard stated that if the years of political stagnation Over Chat Control have not been resolved, it would leave the EU without any legal tools to fight bad actors with messaging services.
The backtrack on the chat control was reported to ensure that a new framework could be implemented before the deadline.
Tech giants and privacy advocates are celebrating
X’s Global Government Affairs team he said On Saturday that Denmark’s withdrawal is a “major defeat for the defenders of mass surveillance”, and the platform “will continue to follow the progress of these negotiations and oppose any effort to implement mass surveillance of the government of users”.
Patrick Hansen, the director of EU Strategy and Policy at stablecoin issuer Circle, also applauded the news and said it was a “major victory for digital freedom in the EU”.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a civil liberties non-profit, shared a similar stance and speculated public pressure “has pushed the EU Council to abandon its dangerous plan to scan encrypted messages”.
Lawmakers should give up mass surveillance
Thorin Klosowski, a security and privacy activist with the EFF, he said in a blog post on Friday that lawmakers should stop trying to circumvent encryption at the expense of public safety.
He argues that the focus should be on “developing real solutions that do not violate the human rights of people around the world.”
Related: Privacy group urges Ireland to abandon work on encryption ‘backdoor law’
“As long as legislators continue to misunderstand how encryption technology works, there is no way forward with message scanning proposals, not in the EU or elsewhere,” he said.
“This type of surveillance is not just an overreach; it is an attack on fundamental human rights. The future EU presidencies must abandon these attempts and work to find a solution that protects people’s privacy and security.”
Ireland will do assume the presidency of the Council of the EU in July 2026, taking the reins from Denmark later a year in the role.
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