Squaring privacy rules with measures to combat child sexual abuse online

With internet-based communications services, such as webmail, messaging services and internet telephony, becoming subject to the strict confidentiality requirements of the e-Privacy Directive, providers' deployments of specific technologies to detect, report and remove child sexual abuse material online now appear unlawful. To accommodate such practices, the European Commission proposed a regulation that would temporarily exempt them from certain provisions of the e-Privacy Directive, without, however, stipulating the legality of these practices with respect to the wider EU data protection framework. During its July plenary session, the European Parliament is due to vote at first reading on the final text resulting from interinstitutional negotiations.