Civil rights activist Dr. Patrick Breyer warns of an unprecedented “double-attack” on secure messaging ahead of critical Friday and Monday EU meetings.
Ahead of a highly critical weekend for digital civil rights in Europe, former Member of the European Parliament Dr. Patrick Breyer is sounding the alarm. An unprecedented and outrageous double-attack by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola (EPP) and EU governments threatens to impose mass surveillance and end anonymous communication in the EU. In response to this imminent threat, civil society has updated and relaunched the campaign platform fightchatcontrol.eu, enabling citizens to immediately email EU lawmakers and government representatives.
Dr. Patrick Breyer, civil liberties activist and former Member of the European Parliament, explains:
“What we are witnessing this week is a blatant disregard for democratic processes and fundamental rights. EP President Metsola is attempting an unprecedented power play to resurrect the expired ‘Chat Control 1.0’ mass scanning regime, directly overriding her own Parliament’s clear rejection from March. Her own EPP group opposed in the final vote. This trickery betrays European democracy. At the exact same time, the European Parliament is in the process of rushing a new scanning mandate, paving the way for fatal concessions in the trilogue on Monday. EU citizens are facing a double-attack on their right to private correspondence. We cannot let undemocratic backroom deals destroy the safety, security, and confidentiality of our digital lives.”
The “Double Threat” This Weekend: What is at stake
Threat 1: Metsola’s Undemocratic Push for Chat Control 1.0 (Friday)
EP President Metsola (EPP) is attempting an unprecedented power play to resurrect the temporary Chat Control 1.0 regulation. This move completely ignores the fact that the European Parliament clearly rejected it in its first reading in March and called on the Commission to withdraw the proposal. A recent leak reveals that the Council is meeting this Friday to try and adopt a first-reading position to force this through.
Threat 2: The Permanent CSAR Trilogue and Imminent Concessions (Monday, 29 June)
Simultaneously, the final trilogue negotiations on the permanent Chat Control 2.0 regulation (2022/0155) will take place this Monday. The European Parliament is set to rush a new mandate on detection/scanning on Monday morning. Later that day, the trilogue with the Council could see fatal concessions.
With EP leadership actively meddling, Breyer warns that the worst-case scenario currently on the table for Monday is:
- Mass scanning of private messages: “Voluntary” mass scanning could be brought back, effectively even made mandatory as an enforceable “risk mitigation” measure.
- Warrantless Scanning orders: Mandatory detection orders could be agreed that are not effectively targeted and limited to criminal suspects and that do not require a prior court order.
- The End of Anonymous Communications: Mandatory age verification for hosting and communications services could be agreed, effectively ending the right to communicate anonymously in Europe.
Relaunch of fightchatcontrol.eu: Citizens Called to Action
Because the EP is drawing up a new mandate on detection/scanning and the Council is trying to bypass democracy, the civil society campaign fightchatcontrol.eu has been urgently relaunched to target both the Member States and the Parliament’s lead negotiators.
The tool empowers citizens to contact their representatives with an email template summarizing the legal and technical flaws of the current proposals, demanding adherence to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the EU Court of Justice’s decisions. These have been reiterated by the Council’s own legal service earlier this month.
Breyer concludes:
“We have repeatedly shown that genuine child protection is possible without destroying the privacy of 450 million Europeans. We need targeted, evidence-based investigations, security-by-design, and the proactive deletion of material on the darknet—not highly error-prone algorithms that criminalize innocent family photos. I urge all citizens, NGOs, and tech innovators to make noise this weekend, use fightchatcontrol.eu, and tell their representatives to stand up for our rights.”
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