The European Union recently unveiled plans to introduce a chat monitoring mechanism, designed to regularly scan private messages for child pornographic material, a move that Luxembourg's Chaos Computer Club has now criticised in a press release.

Platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, or Instagram would be affected by this oversight initiative.

Luxembourg's Chaos Computer Club reacted to the announcement with a press release of their own (LUX), noting that regardless of the good intentions, the EU's plans represent an extreme infringement of everyone's privacy. They further question who will be responsible for managing the necessary algorithms and data banks.

The statement concludes that the end does not justifies the means, a position also shared by the German Child Protection Association. Furthermore, Chaos Computer Club argues that algorithms will end up targeting innocent people while the real perpetrators continue to hide on alternative message boards.