Chatcontrol 2025 edition in Brief

The EU's proposed Chat Control 2025 regulation would require messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Signal to use AI to scan all user photos and links for potential child exploitation material. If the AI flags content as suspicious, user details including location and phone number would be reported to Europol and local police. The proposal has a low threshold for reporting (anything not "manifestly unfounded"), would create a surveillance database, and has prompted Signal to threaten leaving the EU. Critics argue this creates mass surveillance infrastructure while actual child protection experts say they need more resources, not bulk scanning technology.