周二下午，欧洲议会为所谓的“聊天控制”再次延期扫清了道路。议员们以331票对304票、11票弃权的微弱多数，通过了一项紧急动议，该动议由议长萝伯塔·梅措拉应成员国和欧洲人民党党团的要求临时列入议程。这使得议会能够在周四——夏季休会前的最后一次会议——再次就这一备受争议的计划进行投票。
这一操作的目的：恢复已于四月到期的聊天控制过渡性法规。这项例外法规允许 Meta、Google 或 Microsoft 等科技巨头在无具体嫌疑的情况下，自愿搜查私人聊天、电子邮件和即时通讯服务中与儿童性虐待相关的材料。议会此前未同意再次延期，该法规因此已于四月到期。
投票之前经历了一番反复拉锯，反对者称这是一次史无前例的议会操作。海盗党议员 Markéta Gregorová 指责保守派的欧洲人民党（EPP）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，但未能如愿。梅措拉则勉强为这一程序辩护，称自己遵守了所有规则。
社会民主党人让步
支持者们通过欧盟委员会施压获得了支持。四位委员在投票前不久致信人民代表，紧急警告存在持续的监管空白。如果没有扫描，施害者将无法被追究责任，几乎所有虐待材料都将无法被发现——尽管 Meta 等公司目前仍在提供报告。据 EPP 称，议会不能就这样进入夏季休会期。
另一方面，AfD 欧洲议会议员 Mary Khan 抱怨称，一项本已被否决的法律正通过切香肠式的策略从后门被复活，直到达成想要的结果。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，议会已在三月和四月以明显多数否决了再次延长这一聊天监控的提案。
该议案如今在各国政府和议会议长的敦促下再次提交至全体会议，这也令谈判代表们感到沮丧。报告人 Birgit Sippel（SPD）称之为欧盟国家的不公平手段，并拒绝予以支持。尽管如此，社会民主党党团事先已作出让步，表示同意紧急程序，从而确保了所需的多数票。
程序伎俩一直耍到最后一个会期日
现在所选择的程序给了聊天控制（Chat Control）的支持者一个重大的战术优势。由于该法律正处于二读阶段，周四若要提出修正案或再次否决，需要全体议员中 361 票的绝对多数。相比之下，另一方只需出席的欧洲议会议员简单多数即可。由于许多议员历来在暑假前的最后一天就已经离席，该法规的重新颁布被认为几乎不可避免。
如果欧洲议会议员否决了这项紧急程序，草案本会提交给负责的公民自由、司法和内政委员会，在那里本可以在暑假后制定出一个法律上稳妥的妥协方案。
IT 安全研究人员已多次在紧急信函中警告，所用 AI 扫描的错误率高得不可接受，这危及了无辜公民的隐私。信息学学会的一名董事会成员甚至向联邦宪法法院提交了紧急申请。像 Patrick Breyer 这样的民权活动人士甚至担心，重新延长的过渡状态将减轻欧盟各国政府在政治上的压力，使其无需着手制定一项远比被搁置的聊天控制 2.0 更有效、更有针对性的永久后续法规。
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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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