8 ms·

I’m confused by > This means on April 6, 2026, Gmail, LinkedIn, Microsoft and other Big Techs must stop scanning your private messages in the EU It had alread

I’m confused by > This means on April 6, 2026, Gmail, LinkedIn, Microsoft and other Big Techs must stop scanning your private messages in the EU It had already passed and started?

nickslaughter02 6mo ago
Yes, voluntary Chat Control 1.0 has been running since 2021.
- SiempreViernes 6mo ago
  Well, chat control 1.0 is about making an existing practice legal, it didn't create the practice of scanning messages for know child sexual abuse material, though I don't know how long that has been going on before the legislation in 2021 passed (but probably for several years at that point, since getting a new law trough takes a while).
inglor_cz 6mo ago
It was possible on a voluntary basis.
3836293648 6mo ago
Something something constitutional (ish*) rights say you can't do this. Chat Control 1 says, eh do it anyway if you want on a voluntary and temporary basis until the Courts get around to saying no. Chat Control 2 says you have to. Until the courts finally get around to striking it down in 15 years.
isodev 6mo ago
Of course, remember Apple championed the idea with iMessage scanning which at the time produced A LOT of discussion e.g. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/2021-we-told-apple-dont-scan-our-phones https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/2021-we-told-apple-don...
appstorelottery 6mo ago
What happens to the already scanned metadata?
- layer8 6mo ago
  The data that isn’t flagged from scanning is prohibited from being stored in the first place. Flagging is required to have maximum accuracy and reliability according to the state of the art. Data that was flagged is stored as long as needed to confirm (by human review) and report it. Data that isn’t confirmed must be deleted without delay.
gostsamo 6mo ago
There was an interim legislation that will expire in april.
layer8 6mo ago
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/1232/oj/eng https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/1232/oj/eng
vaylian 6mo ago
> It had already passed and started? Facebook and others have been scanning your private messages for many years already. Then someone discovered that this practice is illegal in Europe. So they passed the temporary chat control 1.0 emergency law to make it legal. The plan was to draft a chat control 2.0 law that would then be the long-term solution. But negotiations took too long and the temporary law will expire on the 4th of April (not the 6th) which means that it will be illegal again for Facebook and others to scan the private messages of European citizens without prior suspicion of any wrongdoing.
- moffkalast 6mo ago
  I take it facebook/meta paid no fines for doing it illegally in the first place?
  - vaylian 6mo ago
    You could probably have sued them. I'm not aware of any cases where that happened.
  - AnssiH 6mo ago
    My impression was that the temporary permission-granting regulation was passed before the relevant privacy law came into effect, but I didn't check the dates now.
fh973 6mo ago
Gmail and likely others have been scanning at least emails for child pornography since the 2010s.
- throwaway290 6mo ago
  as far as I know, required by US law

I’m confused by > This means on April 6, 2026, Gmail, LinkedIn, Microsoft and other Big Techs must stop scanning your private messages in the EU It had already passed and started?

nickslaughter02 6mo ago

Yes, voluntary Chat Control 1.0 has been running since 2021.

SiempreViernes 6mo ago
Well, chat control 1.0 is about making an existing practice legal, it didn't create the practice of scanning messages for know child sexual abuse material, though I don't know how long that has been going on before the legislation in 2021 passed (but probably for several years at that point, since getting a new law trough takes a while).

inglor_cz 6mo ago

It was possible on a voluntary basis.

3836293648 6mo ago

Something something constitutional (ish*) rights say you can't do this. Chat Control 1 says, eh do it anyway if you want on a voluntary and temporary basis until the Courts get around to saying no. Chat Control 2 says you have to. Until the courts finally get around to striking it down in 15 years.

isodev 6mo ago

Of course, remember Apple championed the idea with iMessage scanning which at the time produced A LOT of discussion e.g. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/2021-we-told-apple-dont-scan-our-phones https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/2021-we-told-apple-don...

appstorelottery 6mo ago

What happens to the already scanned metadata?

layer8 6mo ago
The data that isn’t flagged from scanning is prohibited from being stored in the first place. Flagging is required to have maximum accuracy and reliability according to the state of the art. Data that was flagged is stored as long as needed to confirm (by human review) and report it. Data that isn’t confirmed must be deleted without delay.

gostsamo 6mo ago

There was an interim legislation that will expire in april.

layer8 6mo ago

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/1232/oj/eng https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/1232/oj/eng

vaylian 6mo ago

> It had already passed and started? Facebook and others have been scanning your private messages for many years already. Then someone discovered that this practice is illegal in Europe. So they passed the temporary chat control 1.0 emergency law to make it legal. The plan was to draft a chat control 2.0 law that would then be the long-term solution. But negotiations took too long and the temporary law will expire on the 4th of April (not the 6th) which means that it will be illegal again for Facebook and others to scan the private messages of European citizens without prior suspicion of any wrongdoing.

moffkalast 6mo ago
I take it facebook/meta paid no fines for doing it illegally in the first place?
- vaylian 6mo ago
  You could probably have sued them. I'm not aware of any cases where that happened.
- AnssiH 6mo ago
  My impression was that the temporary permission-granting regulation was passed before the relevant privacy law came into effect, but I didn't check the dates now.

fh973 6mo ago

Gmail and likely others have been scanning at least emails for child pornography since the 2010s.

throwaway290 6mo ago
as far as I know, required by US law