Government to continue push for social media firms to scan encrypted messages for child abuse images
Messenger Secure Munications The Telegram, Others Whatsapp, Signal File Among Facebook Include Picture: Pexels And
The Irish Government is to continue pushing for agreement among EU member states for a directive obliging social media firms to scan their platforms, including encrypted communications, for child sex abuse imagery.
The proposal — strongly opposed by privacy groups — has struggled to get agreement among all member states since it was proposed two-and-a-half years ago.
The EU Justice and Home Affairs Council has again failed to agree a compromise text but the Irish Government, among other supportive states, said it will pursue the issue next year.
The measure has been redrafted on a number of occasions by the European Commission and European Parliament and is in response to the widespread proliferation of child abuse material online, often shared through encrypted apps.
The current draft mandates online platforms to scan all encrypted communications to identify child sexual abuse imagery.
“The council did not agree on a presidency compromise text for a regulation to prevent and combat child sexual abuse, with some states raising concerns as regards the risks to the confidentiality of interpersonal and, in particular, end-to-end encrypted communications,” the Department of Foreign Affairs told the .
The secure communications include WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal and Facebook Messenger among others.
“Ireland will continue to actively engage with other member states and the incoming Polish presidency, with a view to securing agreement on a text that is supported by all,” the department said.
Poland opposed the current draft but will now have responsibility for trying to find the right balance.
Some opposition groups, in addition to citing privacy rights, have also said that, even if technically possible, any breaching of encryption would assist not just liberal democracies but autocratic regimes.
But the CEO of hotline.ie, Ireland’s online industry watchdog, Mick Moran, said tech companies can already scan for malware and pointed out that, in the “real world”, law enforcement can apply for a court warrant to search a person’s home — and that the same principle and rights should apply in the virtual world.
Children’s group ISPCC and CARI, a charity providing therapy to children, are strongly in favour of the proposals.
Last May, the European Police Chiefs, comprising EU and non-EU countries, called on social media companies to establish a technical means to identify child sexual abuse and other serious crimes on encrypted communications they provide.
The association, which includes An Garda Síochána, expressed concerned at the expansion of end-to-end encryption, to include Facebook, without major tech companies retaining the ability to ensure their services were not being used for the most serious of crimes, including those against children.