The EU’s revised “Chat control” proposal poses risks to corporate data privacy and confidentiality
The European Union is shifting how it handles digital surveillance. The original plan raised alarms across the tech sector, mandatory scanning of all private communications for potential abuse. Now, they’ve switched gears. Monitoring is “voluntary,” and it’s up to providers, usually large platforms, to decide if and how they scan user messages. Some headlines spun this as a win for privacy, but let’s be clear: for businesses, especially those operating in Europe, this is not a reprieve. It’s a warning.
As it stands, there’s no solid firewall stopping private companies from scanning encrypted communications. These scans are driven by AI tools that are far from perfect. They often make mistakes, flagging legitimate files, emails, or internal documents as potential threats. For corporations, a false positive isn’t just annoying. It’s a serious risk. Think of the internal strategic roadmap your teams have spent months on. Sensitive code. M&A planning. If mistakenly flagged, this information can be sent to law enforcement without your knowledge. That’s not just a data exposure issue, it undermines any assurance of confidentiality you give to your employees, board members, and partners.
Patrick Breyer, a digital privacy advocate and former Member of the European Parliament, points out that while most discussions have focused on individual privacy, the business implications are getting ignored. He’s right. This affects everyone from your general counsel to your CTO.
This proposal sets a precedent where encrypted data held within your infrastructure is no longer fully under your control. As leaders, you need to be clear-eyed about this. If platforms you rely on for corporate messaging or collaboration are subject to “voluntary” scanning and have broad discretion, you’re going to need a strong internal playbook around secure communications, encryption protocols, and risk mitigation strategies.
Digital surveillance is expanding, and the rules around it are blurring. Just because something is labeled as “voluntary” by regulators doesn’t mean it’s harmless. It just means you need to move faster to adapt and defend your data.
Voluntary mass scanning under the guise of combating online child abuse
What’s being framed as a privacy-preserving compromise in the EU’s “Chat Control” update is, in reality, a quiet expansion of digital surveillance. Regulators say scanning communications will now be done by the platforms themselves, and only if they choose to. On the surface, that may sound less intrusive. But it opens another problem: turning powerful private companies into self-regulating surveillance entities without clear oversight.
Here’s the issue. Under this version of “Chat Control,” companies can proactively scan user messages, at scale, without the need for any suspicion of wrongdoing. They’re using machine learning models with limited transparency and unknown error margins. These models are programmed to identify markers of abusive content, but they also produce false positives. There’s no standardized auditing, no legal checks to stop this kind of scanning. In some cases, there’s no legal basis at all.
Patrick Breyer called it out directly: “Chat Control is not dead, it is just being privatized.” That’s accurate. These voluntary scans are not optional for users. The decision rests with tech providers, and in many cases, they’re American companies that serve European users. Meaning, you’ve got cross-border privacy implications combined with inconsistent application of EU laws. That puts both individuals and companies in a risky position.
European Digital Rights (EDRi) also weighed in, warning that the new rules lack clarity. They highlighted the Council’s failure to explicitly reject “client-side scanning”—a method where data is processed before even reaching the receiver. This bypasses encryption entirely. EDRi stressed the concern: without stronger legal boundaries, digital rights are left exposed to national interpretations that could vary wildly across EU member states.
For business leaders, the practical takeaway is simple. You cannot assume encrypted platforms will provide ironclad privacy protections, especially when platforms can unilaterally decide to inspect communications. Ensure that your privacy compliance roadmap doesn’t just meet today’s rules, but anticipates a near-future where platform-level surveillance becomes normalized without state warrants.
The structure is already being built for that future. Don’t wait for enforcement mechanisms to tighten. Move now. Reassess how your organization communicates, and put safeguards in place so that neither your workforce nor your customers are caught off guard.
Key highlights
- Corporations face real data exposure risks under the EU’s revised chat control: The new “voluntary” scanning model allows tech platforms to monitor encrypted communications using error-prone AI tools. Leaders should reassess internal data protection protocols, as false positives could lead to unauthorized exposure of sensitive material to authorities.
- Privately managed surveillance undermines digital privacy and legal clarity: The revised policy delegates mass message scanning to big tech firms with minimal oversight and no binding restrictions on invasive tools like client-side scanning. Executives should monitor this regulatory shift and push for clearer safeguards to protect user privacy and operational integrity across jurisdictions.
