Requiring providers to scan private communications on a broad scale amounts to mass surveillance because it subjects everyone’s messages to automated inspection, even in the absence of suspicion.
This is now a general view across Social Media as I read more and more post on the subject.
This Is a Serious Privacy Problem
On 9 July 2026, the European Parliament approved an extension of the controversial “Chat Control” rules.
This means Google and other companies now have legal permission to continue scanning people’s private emails and photos until April 2028.
For anyone using Gmail services on pc or phone, this is particularly relevant.
What Does This Actually Mean?
Google can automatically check your emails and photos for child sexual abuse material (CSAM). This scanning is done without your specific consent and without any suspicion that you’ve done anything wrong.
It works like this:
- The system looks for known illegal images and videos using digital “fingerprints” (called hashes).
- If something matches, it can be reported to authorities.
- This applies to regular Gmail accounts and Google Photos.
In simple terms: If you use Gmail to store or send personal photos and emails, those can be scanned by Google’s systems. Why this is a Privacy Concern.
Many people see this as unacceptable for several reasons:
- It scans everyone, not just suspected criminals. Your private messages and photos can be checked even if you’ve never broken any law.
- No warrant is needed. There is no requirement for police or a court to approve the scanning of your account.
- It normalises mass surveillance. Once companies are allowed to automatically inspect private communications on this scale, it becomes easier to expand in the future.
- False positives happen. Automated systems have previously flagged innocent family photos, medical images, and other harmless content.
The EU has some of the world’s strongest privacy laws, including the GDPR and the right to respect for private communications. So how can it justify proposals that could require the broad scanning of private messages and emails?
If everyone’s communications are subject to automated inspection before there is any suspicion of wrongdoing, many people see that as a fundamental shift away from the principle that privacy is a basic right, not a privilege.
While the stated goal is to protect children, scanning the private communications of hundreds of millions of ordinary people is a disproportionate response.
Important Points to Understand
- This is not the full permanent Chat Control law (that is still being negotiated).
- It mainly affects services that are not end-to-end encrypted, such as regular Gmail. Which is probably the most used email service.
- Truly encrypted apps like Signal are not affected in the same way because the company cannot access your messages.
- Google has been doing this type of scanning for years, but the previous legal permission in the EU had expired. Today’s vote brought it back.
What Can You Do? If you’re uncomfortable with your emails and photos being scanned:
- Consider switching sensitive conversations and photo sharing to end-to-end encrypted apps (Signal is currently one of the best options).
- Be aware that anything stored in regular Gmail or Google Photos can be subject to this automated scanning.
- Change away for Gmail and use a secure email provider.
The Bigger Picture
Today’s decision shows how easily privacy protections can be weakened when governments and big tech companies claim it’s for a good cause.
While stopping child abuse is important, many believe this should be done through targeted investigations rather than blanket scanning of everyone’s private communications.
Your emails and photos are personal. The idea that companies can automatically scan them, even when there is no suspicion of wrongdoing, should concern anyone who values privacy.
This is where Big Tech and the EU are crossing a line. Every step towards broader monitoring of private communications erodes the expectation of privacy that many of us have taken for granted.
It’s another reason I’m seriously considering moving my data to privacy focused services and, ultimately, leaving what increasingly feels like Europe’s growing surveillance culture.
Is there a legal route to challenge this in court? In my opinion, this represents one of the most serious assaults on privacy, civil liberties, and the presumption of innocence in the digital age.
The idea that everyone’s private emails and messages could be subject to routine scanning, regardless of whether they are suspected of any crime, should concern every citizen.
No democratic society should normalise the mass inspection of private communications.
