#stopscanningme

An important message from EDRi (European Digital Rights)

Dear friends,

Together with 13 organisations representing youth rights, the anti-corruption movement, cyber-security experts and legal professionals, we are launching the "Stop Scanning Me" campaign to protect our right to trusted and secure communications.

The campaign comes after the European Commission proposed the CSA Regulation in May 2022, that will force apps and online services (e.g. WhatsApp and Facebook) to scan all our private messages, verify everyone’s age and filter content shared on platforms.

Even though the law proposal has the important intention of safeguarding children, it’s likely to fail because it puts naïve faith in technology - treating tech as a silver bullet to deeper and far more complicated social issues.

To confirm this, a new investigation published in Ireland today shows that tools for scanning private communications to detect child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online suffer from very low accuracy and high rates of false alarms.

These are similar tools as the ones proposed by the EU.

More, the data of the innocent people who are reported as perpetrators on the basis of the tools' false alarms is kept in records by the police,  without the slightest reasonable suspicion. This has happened in the past, when a father was wrongfully investigated after he sent a photo of his child to their doctor.

What’s at stake?

We all benefit from freedom and privacy to explore our identity, shape our futures and build communities where we can thrive. We all need safe spaces, especially in insecure situations.

A free and open internet and communication enables us to express ourselves, to have meaningful, trusted conversations and relationships, and to participate in democracy and society.Once again people in power go after our freedom and privacy.

We all – including children - deserve better from our legislators.

The CSA Regulation threatens to fundamentally undermine end-to-end encryption, a vital human rights tool relied upon by people all across the world. More, the proposal threatens anonimity online, and puts free speech on the edge.

If adopted, the CSAR will have a critical impact on journalists, human rights defenders, survivors of child sexual abuse and intimate partner violence, especially those at risk of stalking by a (former) partner and young people communicating legitimately, especially LGBTQ+ young people.

Aura, activist (Germany)

"With this proposal young people will be stripped of the opportunity to find a safe and encrypted space to exchange experiences and to discuss personal and political matters.We don't want to fear that our supposed-to-be private conversations can be turned against us."

Ligue des droits humaines, NGO (Belgium)

" It would de facto allow authorities to have access to the content of encrypted exchanges. This would weaken the online security of people who work with sensitive information (journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders, etc)."

Emma Prest, CTO (Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project)

"We are trying to investigate the same governments that would have access to this scanning technology. Journalists are already under attacked and being targeted. This legislation would just give more power to those in authority to abuse their position."

We have a chance to fight back!

We started building a powerful movement to STOP this badly-written and dangerous law proposal. We don’t stand alone.

In June, we wrote an open letter with 117 other civil society groups, calling on the EU to withdraw the CSAR and pursue alternative measures that are more likely to be effective, sustainable and fully respect EU fundamental rights.

Signatories included those working on children’s digital rights, children’s health, support for victims of online abuse, as well as the empowerment of girls and women.

Now, we are moving to strong collective action that relies on your support. Get familiar with this case and spread the word under the #StopScanningMe or #ChatControl hashtags.

Only together we can have an impact!

About European Digital Rights (EDRi)