欧洲议会于周二下午为所谓的“聊天控制”法案再次延期扫清了道路。以 331 票赞成、304 票反对、11 票弃权的微弱多数，议员们通过了一项紧急动议，该动议由议长罗伯塔·梅措拉应成员国和欧洲人民党党团的要求，在短时间内列入议程。这使得议会有可能在本周四（夏季休会前的最后一次会议）再次对该争议性计划进行投票。
这一策略的目标是：恢复已于 4 月到期的“聊天控制”过渡法规。该例外法规允许 Meta、Google 或 Microsoft 等科技巨头，在没有具体嫌疑的情况下，自愿搜索私人聊天、电子邮件和即时通讯服务中与儿童性虐待相关的内容。议会此前未能同意再次延期，该法规因此于 4 月失效。
投票前经历了一番反复，反对者称这是一次史无前例的议会操作。海盗党议员玛尔凯塔·格雷戈罗娃指责保守的欧洲人民党上演闹剧，并违反其自身的议事规则。她呼吁同僚再次投票反对“聊天控制”，但未能成功。梅措拉则为这一程序进行了辩护，声称她遵守了所有规则。
社会民主党人屈服
支持者得到了欧盟委员会施压的支持。在投票前不久，四位欧盟委员在致人民代表的一封信中紧急警告，监管漏洞仍在持续。他们声称，如果没有这些扫描，犯罪者将不会受到追究，几乎所有的虐待材料都将无法被发现——尽管 Meta 等公司目前仍在提供相关报告。欧洲人民党表示，议会不能就这样进入夏季休会期。
另一方面，德国选择党欧洲议会议员玛丽·汗则抱怨称，一项已被否决的法律正通过“切香肠战术”从后门复活，直到达成预期结果。没有人想削弱儿童保护，但这不应成为将所有公民置于普遍怀疑之下、并使大规模监控合法化的理由。事实上，在与欧盟成员国谈判失败后，欧洲议会已于今年3月和4月以绝对多数否决了再次延长这项“聊天控制”法案。
在各国政府和欧洲议会议长的推动下，该提案如今再次被提交至全体会议，这也令谈判代表们感到沮丧。报告人比吉特·西佩尔（社民党）称这是欧盟国家的不公平手段，并拒绝提供支持。尽管如此，社民党团此前已作出让步，并同意启动紧急程序，从而确保了必要的多数票。
直至最后一个会期的程序性把戏
目前选择的程序为“聊天控制”的支持者带来了显著的战术优势。由于该法律处于二读阶段，周四若要提出修正案或再次否决，需要全体议员的绝对多数（361票）。而另一方只需出席议员的简单多数即可。由于许多议员历来会在夏季休会前的最后一天之前离席，因此该法规的重新通过被认为几乎不可避免。
如果欧洲议会议员否决了紧急程序，该草案本应提交给负责公民自由、司法与内政事务的委员会，以便在夏季休会后制定出法律上合理的折中方案。
IT安全研究人员多次在紧急信函中警告，所使用的AI扫描错误率高得令人无法接受，这危及了无辜公民的隐私。信息学学会的一位董事会成员甚至向联邦宪法法院提交了紧急申请。像帕特里克·布雷耶这样的民权活动家甚至担心，重新获得的过渡地位将减轻欧盟各国政府面临的政治压力，使其无法制定更有效、更有针对性的永久性后续法规，以取代被阻止的“聊天控制2.0”。
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The European Parliament cleared the way for a renewed extension of the so-called “Chat Control” on Tuesday afternoon. With a narrow majority of 331 to 304 votes and eleven abstentions, the MEPs voted for an urgency motion that Parliament President Roberta Metsola had put on the agenda at short notice at the behest of the member states and the EPP group. This allows Parliament to vote again on the controversial plan on Thursday, its last session before the summer break.
The aim of this maneuver: to reinstate the transitional regulation for Chat Control, which expired in April. This exception regulation allowed tech giants like Meta, Google, or Microsoft to voluntarily search private chats, emails, and messenger services for material related to child sexual abuse without specific suspicion. Parliament had not agreed to a renewed extension, and the regulation had therefore expired in April.
The vote was preceded by a back-and-forth, with opponents calling it an unprecedented parliamentary maneuver. Pirate MEP Markéta Gregorová accused the conservative European People's Party (EPP) of engaging in a farce and violating its own rules of procedure. She appealed in vain to her colleagues to vote against Chat Control again. Metsola narrowly defended the procedure, stating she was adhering to all rules.
Social Democrats cave in
Supporters received backing through pressure from the EU Commission. Four Commissioners had urgently warned the people's representatives in a letter shortly before the vote about a continuing regulatory gap. Without the scans, perpetrators would not be held accountable, and almost all abuse material would remain undiscovered – even though Meta & Co. are currently still providing reports. Parliament could not go into the summer break like this, according to the EPP.
AfD MEP Mary Khan, on the other hand, complained that a law that had already been rejected was being revived through the back door using salami-tactics until the desired outcome was achieved. No one wants to weaken child protection, but that should not justify putting all citizens under general suspicion and legitimizing mass surveillance. In fact, Parliament had rejected a renewed extension of this Chat Control by a clear majority in March and April after failed negotiations with the EU member states.
The fact that the dossier is now landing in the plenary again at the urging of the governments and the Parliament President is also causing frustration among the negotiators. Rapporteur Birgit Sippel (SPD) spoke of an unfair maneuver by the EU countries and refused her support. Nevertheless, the Social Democratic group caved in beforehand and signaled its approval for the urgency procedure, which ensured the necessary majority.
Procedural tricks until the last session day
The procedure now chosen gives the proponents of Chat Control a significant tactical advantage. Since the law is in its second reading, an absolute majority of 361 votes of all parliament members is required for amendments or a renewed rejection on Thursday. In contrast, a simple majority of the MEPs present is sufficient for the other side. As many parliamentarians have historically already departed by the last day before the summer break, the re-enactment of the regulation is considered almost unavoidable.
Had the MEPs rejected the urgency, the draft would have gone to the responsible Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, where a legally sound compromise could have been worked out after the summer break.
IT security researchers have repeatedly warned in urgent letters about unacceptably high error rates of the AI scans used, which endangered the privacy of innocent citizens. A board member of the Society for Informatics even filed an urgent application with the Federal Constitutional Court. Civil rights activists like Patrick Breyer even fear that the renewed transitional status will relieve political pressure on EU governments to engage in a much more effective and targeted permanent successor regulation to the blocked Chat Control 2.0.
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