RE: digitalcourage.social/@echo_pb…

A major victory -- although the fight still isn't over. From the article:

"In a sensational turn of events in the fight against Chat Control, a majority in the European Parliament voted today to end the untargeted mass scanning of private communications. In doing so, the Parliament firmly rejected the error-prone and unconstitutional surveillance practices of recent years. Pressure is now mounting on EU governments to respect the MEPs’ vote and bury untargeted mass surveillance in Europe once and for all....

Based on today’s mandate, trilogue negotiations between the EU Parliament, the European Commission, and the Council of the EU are set to begin as early as tomorrow. Negotiations are taking place under extreme time pressure, as the current interim regulation authorizing Chat Control expires on April 6. The EU Commission and the vast majority of the EU Council—except for Italy—have so far categorically rejected any restrictions on untargeted mass scanning."

It's also worth highlighting that this is also a victory for the EU against US tech imperialism:

"The push for Chat Control is heavily driven by foreign-funded lobby groups and tech vendors. The US-based organization Thorn, which literally sells the exact scanning software in question, spends hundreds of thousands of euros lobbying in Brussels. The tech industry has officially lobbied side-by-side with NGOs for a law that ensures their profits and data access, rather than protecting children."

#chatControl