Identifying, reporting and prosecuting online sexual abuse of children is set to become significantly more complicated in Europe – laments Charel Schmit, the ombudsman for children’s rights in Luxembourg.
The issue stems from a European-level decision to end certain voluntary monitoring mechanisms. Charel Schmit fears significant consequences.
Under the ePrivacy Directive, a temporary derogation had previously allowed online platforms to monitor their content and, where necessary, report it.
“Since 2021, there has been a transitional directive allowing major messaging service providers to carry out voluntary checks on users’ private communications. And indeed this was done actively,” explains Charel Schmit. “99% of the material forwarded to judicial authorities in Europe comes precisely from these voluntary reports by the platforms.”
However, the European Parliament recently voted by a majority not to extend this derogation. According to Charel Schmit, this change could have major implications for criminal prosecutions in this area and could benefit networks that disseminate this type of content.
In the European Parliament, the decision is part of a political deadlock. The main argument put forward by opponents centres on the protection of privacy.
As Charel Schmit summarises, certain factions oppose any monitoring of private communications, believing it to be an excessive infringement of fundamental rights and individual freedoms.
This has now resulted in a legal vacuum, pending the adoption of a new directive, according to Charel Schmit. An initiative aimed at strengthening child protection had already been presented in 2022, but political discussions are progressing slowly, the children’s rights advocate adds.
Luxembourg also does not fare well in international rankings, particularly due to the presence of content related to child abuse hosted on servers located in the country. “Luxembourg ranks fourth with 186 reports per 10,000 inhabitants,” says Charel Schmit.
According to last year’s BEE SECURE report, the situation has worsened further. He is therefore calling on the Luxembourg authorities to step up their engagement at European level in order to speed up the adoption of a new directive.
