MEPs have backed changes to a temporary exemption from EU online privacy rules that allows electronic communications services to voluntarily detect child sexual abuse.
The European Parliament adopted amendments to the Council’s position on an “ePrivacy derogation” — an exemption from rules that normally protect the confidentiality of communications — during a vote on Thursday, the parliamentary press service informed.
The amended text would exclude “communications to which end-to-end encryption is, has been or will be applied” from the scope of the exemption.
At second reading, an absolute majority of MEPs — currently 360 — is required to reject or amend the Council position.
A first vote showed 314 in favour of rejecting the Council position, 276 against and 17 abstentions.
A subsequent vote did not secure a majority to reject the amended Parliament position, with 276 in favour, 286 against and 30 abstentions, meaning the second reading is closed.
What happens next
The Parliament’s amended position will now be sent to the Council, which has three months to approve or reject the amendments, according to the European Parliament.
If the Council does not accept all the amendments, the two institutions would move to conciliation talks to agree a final text.
The Council position would have effectively revived a lapsed derogation that allowed providers to voluntarily detect child sexual abuse and the solicitation of children in private communications, and to remove and report relevant material.
An interim law linked to the derogation expired on 3 April 2026 after the Parliament rejected a Commission proposal to extend it and closed its first reading.
The Council later sent the proposal back to Parliament for a second reading.
The derogation is intended as a temporary measure while negotiations continue on a permanent EU framework to combat child sexual abuse online, with most aspects agreed under the Cyprus Presidency of the Council in the first half of 2026 but some points still under discussion.
