The latest attempt to maintain the current system in the fight against sexual child abuse online has failed. On Thursday, the EU Parliament voted not to extend the temporary exemption from the e‑Privacy rules that allows service providers to voluntarily detect online child abuse. The Commission’s proposal was rejected with 228 votes in favour, 311 against and 92 abstentions.
The extension had been intended to keep the existing measures in place while negotiations for a long‑term legal framework to prevent and combat online child abuse continued. Parliament’s position called for a shorter extension of the measures, ending in August 2027 rather than the longer period proposed by the Commission, and for a more narrowly defined scope to ensure proportionality and targeted effectiveness.
However, talks with the Council did not reach an agreement, meaning the provisional regulation will expire after 3 April 2026. The voluntary exemption had already been extended in 2024. Parliament has been ready to negotiate a permanent framework since November 2023, and since the Council adopted its position in November 2025, discussions on the permanent law have been ongoing.
