Child sexual abuse online: statement by the rapporteur on extending temporary rules

Lead MEP Birgit Sippel has issued a statement on the temporary framework for voluntary detection of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online.

On Monday, negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of the EU met to discuss a temporary extension to the current e-Privacy derogation that allows the voluntary detection of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online. It currently applies until 3 April 2026.

Parliament rapporteur Birgit Sippel (S&D, Germany) made the following statement:

"It is unfortunate that Parliament and Council could not reach an agreement on the prolongation of the interim regulation last night, despite our willingness to negotiate constructively. However, with their lack of flexibility, Member States have deliberately accepted that the interim regulation will expire in April. From then on, voluntary scanning to counter the dissemination of child sexual abuse material online by the providers will no longer be possible.

As Parliament, it was important to us that child sexual abuse material that has already been identified or reported should remain discoverable and usable for law enforcement purposes. However, regarding previous unknown material and grooming, the Commission’s implementation reports lack clear proof of effectiveness of the measures; Parliament therefore asked for a more targeted approach.

With the interim regulation coming to an end, the priority now is to raise awareness among citizens, to strengthen law enforcement and their capacities to proportionately combat the dissemination of child sexual abuse material online and remind providers of their own responsibility and cooperation with civil society and law enforcement. And most importantly, this bolsters the European Parliament's mandate in negotiations on the permanent child sexual abuse regulation on which negotiations with the Council are still ongoing."