Ireland Must Say No to EU “Chat Control” – Defend Privacy Before It’s Too Late

A serious threat to digital freedom is moving quietly through the European Union – and most people in Ireland have not even heard about it. The EU is pushing a controversial law known as “Chat Control”, part of the proposed Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR). While its stated aim is to combat online child abuse – a goal we all share – this legislation takes a deeply dangerous approach that would scan all private messages of every person using smartphones, messaging apps or email across Europe.

If passed, this law would force platforms like WhatsApp, Signal, Messenger, iMessage, Gmail and Telegram to scan your messages, photos, voice notes and documents – even if they are encrypted. The technology required for this is called client-side scanning, which means your private messages would be checked on your own phone or device before they are sent. In simple terms, it turns every phone into a government surveillance tool.

This is not targeted policing — it is mass surveillance.

What Chat Control Really Means
• Your private conversations will no longer be private
• End-to-end encryption will be undermined, making everyone less secure
• Journalists, campaigners and whistleblowers will lose confidentiality
• Cybercriminals and hackers will exploit scanning backdoors
• Ordinary law-abiding citizens will be monitored like suspects
• Sensitive personal data could be flagged or misused by automated scanning tools

If the EU allows message scanning today in the name of safety, what will they scan for tomorrow? Terrorism? Hate speech? Political opinions? Once mass surveillance is introduced, it is rarely removed.

Why Ireland Must Care

Ireland is at the centre of this issue. Most major tech companies operating in Europe are regulated through Ireland, including Meta, Google, Apple and Microsoft. Whatever decision is made on Chat Control, Ireland will play a decisive role in implementing or resisting it.

Yet so far, the Irish Government has not taken a public stand. There has been no national debate. This issue is moving forward quietly – and that is exactly how rights are lost.

Meanwhile, opposition to Chat Control is growing across Europe. Privacy experts, human rights organisations, legal scholars and technology leaders have warned that this regulation is unconstitutional and unworkable. Some EU countries have already refused to support it. Messaging platforms like Signal and WhatsApp have threatened to pull out of the EU entirely rather than break encryption.

There Are Better Ways to Protect Children

Nobody disputes the need to fight online child abuse. But we do not protect children by spying on everyone. Real solutions already exist:

✅ Increase funding for child protection units and cybercrime investigation
✅ Strengthen cooperation between police forces across Europe
✅ Speed up removal of illegal content at its source
✅ Target criminal networks rather than ordinary citizens
✅ Improve education and online safety reporting tools

We can protect children without destroying privacy.

Ireland Must Take a Stand

This is a defining moment for privacy, security and democracy. We cannot allow governments or tech companies to open the door to constant monitoring of personal communications. Once your phone and messages are no longer private, freedom disappears quietly.

Ireland must vote against Chat Control and defend secure communication for families, businesses, journalists and citizens.

Take Action

If you believe in privacy rights and digital freedom:
• Tell your local representatives and MEPs to vote NO to Chat Control
• Spread awareness — most people still know nothing about this law
• Share this article and join Ireland’s campaign for online privacy

Privacy is not a crime. Encryption protects us all.
Ireland must say NO to Chat Control.

back4good@tuta.com
www.back4good.ie