EU countries have agreed a position on reinstating temporary rules that would let online platforms voluntarily detect and remove child sexual abuse material and report it to police.
The measure would allow online service providers to restart voluntary detection activities that stopped when earlier interim rules expired on 3 April 2026, the Council of the EU informed on Thursday.
The temporary rules would be in place until 3 April 2028.
Under the proposal, the interim measure would again create a limited exemption — known as a derogation — from data protection rules in the electronic communications sector, allowing platforms to look for child sexual abuse material on their services and to report and remove it.
“Protecting children is our duty,” said Jim O’Callaghan, Ireland’s Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, adding that the Council’s position would allow providers to resume efforts to detect abuse online and report it to police.
The Council noted that voluntary action by providers can help identify, investigate and prosecute offenders, as well as rescue victims and reduce the spread of child sexual abuse material online.
What happens next
The Council’s position will now be examined by the European Parliament in a second reading, with MEPs able to approve, amend or reject it.
The initial interim regulation was agreed in 2021 as a short-term solution and was extended once in 2024 for two years before it lapsed in April 2026.
The EU is still negotiating a longer-term law on detecting online child sexual abuse.
The Council noted that European Parliament President Roberta Metsola told EU leaders on 18 June 2026 that it was time to move forward on interim rules on child sexual abuse and look at how to reach political agreement.
