Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1540302
5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 OCTOBER 2025 NEWS abuse as an excuse to check your messages? sender's device and only decrypting it on the recipient's device, ensuring that the message's content is inaccessible to an- yone in between, including service pro- viders like Meta and Signal. This process uses cryptographic keys unique to the sender and recipient. Supporters of the bill argue it is essen- tial for identifying illicit material before it causes harm, with law enforcement agencies across Europe pushing to re- strict end-to-end encryption, citing its widespread use by criminal networks. According to Internet Watch Founda- tion, the EU remains a prime destina- tion for offenders determined to share, sell and buy sexual images and videos of children. In 2024, 62% of all child sexual abuse webpages found by the IWF were traced to an EU country. That is a 28% increase on the previous year Privacy advocates, however, have con- demned the proposal as an assault on citizens' privacy and fundamental rights, warning that it would effectively open the door to mass surveillance by law en- forcement authorities. In November 2023, the European Par- liament (EP) adopted its position on a new proposal for regulation to prevent and combat child sexual abuse mate- rial (CSAM), also known as the CSAM Regulation. This report, from the Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE), sought to establish permanent rules for how com- panies detect CSAM online, building on temporary rules previously allowed by the e-Privacy Directive. On 14 November 2023, the LIBE com- mittee also voted to remove indiscrim- inate chat control and allow for the targeted surveillance of specific individ- uals and groups which are reasonably suspicious. Moreover, Members of the European Parliament voted in favour of the protection of encrypted communica- tions. After proposed legislation was revived by the Danish European presidency but Europe-wide plans to require technolo- gy companies to monitor the contents of encrypted messages have been delayed after diplomats were unable to agree on the proposals. A planned vote on the controversial proposals, known as Chat Control, on 14 October, is now unlikely to go ahead, but Denmark or another European Union (EU) presidency may introduce revised plans at a later date. A decision by Germany on 7 October not to back the law was a kick to the stomach for the proposed legislation, meaning EU member states were unable to reach an agreement. Malta united against Chat Control MaltaToday reached out to Labour MEP Alex Agius Saliba and National- ist MEP Peter Agius, who were both in agreement in their opposition and con- cern over the proposed law. They explained how since the move- ment against the law gained traction over the summer, they have been bom- barded by emails to prevent it from be- ing enacted. Appointed as S&D negotiator on the topic, Agius Saliba explained how this law, and others similar to it, are being pushed by Nordic countries. "The Scandinavians are all in on the protection of children. They have even introduced age verification not to allow children to have access to social media in their respective countries," Agius Saliba said. But he insisted the EP has already vot- ed to protect end-to-end encryption, and the European Council cannot force the law through. Describing it as "crazy legislation" the Labour MEP said he understands it stems from a genuine concern, but there are still a lot of unaddressed and un- known problems. "The issue lies with the false positives. If a parent is abroad, and the other parent sends a photo of their child in the bath- tub for example, without their knowl- edge, the image could be sent to the country's authorities for them to investi- gate the case," he said. "This is a normal situation, and I am not comfortable with allowing such cases to happen." Peter Agius was also in agreement the EP would not allow end-to-end encryp- tion to be meddled with. He also said he understands the genu- ine concerns which arose over the law. "People want privacy, and that is why they use such technologies. It is no secret that people feel they are constantly hav- ing their privacy invaded. That concern is rooted in genuine fears, seeing pattern recognition all around them through so- cial media algorithms," he said. Rather than introducing "invasive" technologies to combat child sex abuse material, Agius said he would prefer to streamline the work of investigative au- thorities. "Let's instead empower the police," he said. Ashton Kutcher seen here posing for a photo with EP President Roberta Metsola in 2023 as he lobbied MEPs on child abuse monitoring software that would scan and report images sent over encrypted messaging tools like WhatsApp What began as Ashton Kutcher's tech crusade to fight child abuse has evolved into one of the EU's most divisive debates over encryption, privacy, and digital freedom A proposed EU law aimed at tackling child abuse online has sparked fierce debate over privacy, encryption, and the right to digital freedom