EU child safety push stalls as ePrivacy derogation expires, age verification app hacked, and CSA Regulation stuck in trilogue

"The ePrivacy derogation allowed platforms such as Meta, Google, and Microsoft to voluntarily scan private messages for child sexual abuse material without violating EU privacy law. When it lapsed, the legal basis for those scans disappeared."

"Researchers hacked the new privacy-preserving age verification app in under two minutes. This incident underscores the challenges Europe faces in protecting children online while maintaining privacy standards."

"The mechanisms needed to find abused children require collecting exactly the data that EU law says you cannot collect about children, creating a regulatory system at war with itself."

The expiration of the ePrivacy derogation on April 3 has hindered voluntary CSAM scanning by major platforms. A new age verification app was hacked shortly after its announcement. The European Parliament's decision reflects a struggle between protecting children online and adhering to strict privacy laws. The CSA Regulation remains stalled, and existing laws like GDPR and DSA complicate the ability to identify child users without violating privacy protections. This creates a paradox where necessary tools for child protection conflict with established privacy frameworks.

Read at TNW | Eu