Lower Saxony plans to advocate during the upcoming Ministerial Conference for the right to reprocess indicators of child abuse within Germany. This push comes after the expiration of an EU exception and the subsequent discontinuation of reports from the US NCMEC, leading to significant concerns over the loss of a crucial protective mechanism.
Submitting a proposal, Niedersachsen emphasizes that the loss of the NCMEC reports risks having the most severe crimes against children and young people remain undetected and unpunished. Furthermore, the system could lead to abuse material being deleted at a smaller scale. Consequently, the state is calling for a “permanent legal basis” established at the European Union level.
Daniela Behrens, the Minister of the Interior, Sport, and Digitalization for Lower Saxony, stated that this cannot be a time when the protection of children from sexual violence online is weakened. According to Behrens, the removal of the ePrivacy exception has eliminated a central instrument that previously helped identify offenders and swiftly remove abuse material from the internet. She predicts that important clues, especially those originating from international reporting systems, will either disappear or decline sharply. This would, she argues, result in crimes going uninvestigated and reducing the likelihood that perpetrators will be held accountable. Thus, Niedersachsen strongly urges that companies preparing to transmit tips, such as NCMEC reports, must have legal certainty regarding the transmission of this data.
Behrens further insisted that the Federal Government must champion a lasting and robust regulation at the European level that meets current protection standards. “It is clear: fewer tips mean more room for perpetrators-and we cannot allow that” she concluded.
Similarly, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) called for a rapid solution. BKA President Holger Münch informed the press that since the interim regulation ended, there has been a noticeable decrease in NCMEC reports. Münch cautioned that if these tips continue to drop, law enforcement agencies cannot adequately or reliably compensate for the shortfall. He described this as a “backward step”-both in combating the spread of abuse material and in protecting minors from sexual abuse.
Münch stressed that a quick European framework is essential. Such a framework would allow providers to legally scan content for both already known and previously unknown abuse material, as well as grooming attempts, thereby helping to protect children and contribute to the successful investigation of suspects.
