Planned EU rules to protect children online are attack on privacy, warn critics

Messaging apps that do not comply with the obligation proposed by European Commission to detect newly created abuse images may have to close. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

Critics have accused the European Commission of seeking to end encrypted communications after the EU’s executive body unveiled strict regulations for messaging apps intended to fight the spread of child sexual abuse imagery.

Under the proposed regulations, messaging services and web hosts would be required to search for, and report, child abuse material – even in the case of encrypted messaging services like Apple’s iMessage and Facebook’s WhatsApp that cannot be scanned in such a way.