EU Allows Tech Companies to Read Citizens' Private Messages Despite Majority Vote Against It

Major tech companies will again be allowed to read the unencrypted private messages and emails of European Union citizens without a warrant after a majority of European Parliament Members (MEPs) voted against the measure.

The Vote: MEPs voted to reject the European Council's position 314-276 with 17 abstentions but failed to stop the measure because an absolute majority of 361 "no" votes was needed. The vote took place on July 9, the last day before the parliament's summer recess. 112 MEPs were reportedly absent, meaning their votes defaulted to "yes." ZeroHedge (Lean Right bias) wrote, "Not coincidentally, the vote was scheduled for the final sitting day before Parliament dispersed for its summer recess, when absenteeism is at its annual peak."

The Law: The law, dubbed "Chat Control 1.0," is an extension of a law that was in place from 2021 until April 2026. MEPs voted against renewing the law twice in March, therefore ending the privileges. Companies like Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Snapchat, TikTok, and Meta, which have previously advocated for the law, will now again be able to voluntarily read Europeans' private communications. Amendments to the law that prevent the surveillance of encrypted messaging platforms, like Meta's Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, were approved, however. The measure is part of a larger initiative where the European Council is considering implementing a more far-reaching permanent measure called "Chat Control 2.0."

Other EU Liberties: As of July 7, all new cars sold in the European Union are now required to include a camera that monitors the driver at any speed over 20 km/h. Also this week, the European Union's top court ruled that reposting content from Kremlin-funded media outlet RT (Lean Right) can be criminally prosecuted.

How The Media Covered It: The measure's passage was not widely covered by mainstream media, though the European heavyweight Euronews (Center) ran a few articles. Notably, many major European state-affiliated news outlets like BBC News (Center), Deutsche Welle (Center), and France24 did not cover the story. American outlets ZeroHedge and WIRED (Left) authored strikingly similar headlines. In a search engine preview headline for its news coverage, Euronews called the law "the EU's most Orwellian law yet." Euronews also framed the law's passage as made possible by a "loophole in parliamentary procedure."

Opposing Perspectives: Before the passage, Tomas Tobé, vice-chair of the European People's Party – the largest group in parliament – said, "We cannot go to the summer recess knowing that our children are not protected." Activist and former MEP Dr. Patrick Breyer said, "Trying to protect children with suspicionless mass surveillance is like frantically mopping the floor while the faucet is still running. Blanket chat control is just as unacceptable as indiscriminately opening everyone's physical mail."

Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.