Negotiators from EU Member States and the European Parliament are yet to agree to extend an exemption allowing online platforms to voluntarily detect content linked to child exploitation.
This was announced on Monday by the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, currently held by Cyprus.
The temporary exemption, which allows messaging services and social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and LinkedIn to identify and report harmful content, is set to expire on 3 April.
A compromise between the Parliament and Member States is meant to be voted on at a plenary session on 26 March in Brussels, but no agreement has been reached.
A spokesperson for the Cypriot presidency, which leads negotiations on behalf of the Member States, warned that the deadlock would create a gap, potentially hindering efforts to rescue victims and prosecute offenders.
Member States have blamed the European Parliament for the stalemate, arguing that its recently adopted stance limits the scope of the extension in ways that render it “ineffective” for most Member States.
Parliament has insisted that the exemption should not apply to encrypted end-to-end communications. It also demands that the analysis of private messages be restricted to content already identified by authorities or users flagged by law enforcement.
The extension became essential due to the lack of a new legislative framework to combat online child exploitation, which has been under discussion for years.
Member States reached consensus in November 2025 on excluding a widely criticised “chat control” feature from the proposal, but final negotiations with the European Parliament remain unresolved.
The Cypriot presidency aims to conclude these talks without delay, the spokesperson added.
