Council moves to reinstate interim measure to combat child sexual abuse online 14:48 The measure intends to protect children by allowing online providers to voluntarily detect,[...]

Today, the Council adopted its position on a regulation to allow online service providers to resume voluntary detection and removal of child sexual abuse material on their platforms. The measure aims to protect children while a long-term legislative framework is under negotiation. The Council wants the regulation to enter into force as soon as possible.

The interim measure constitutes a derogation from data protection rules in the electronic communications sector. This derogation allows online service providers to detect online child sexual abuse on their services, as well as to report and remove it.

Such voluntary activities by online providers play a valuable role in helping identify, investigate and prosecute offenders. They contribute to rescuing victims and reducing the spread of child sexual abuse online.

The previous interim measure expired on 3 April 2026. The Council wants an interim measure to be reinstated as soon as possible until 3 April 2028.

This temporary measure is necessary to effectively combat child sexual abuse online, as well as to avoid a prolonged legal gap pending the adoption and application of the long-term legal framework currently under negotiation.

Next steps

The Council position will now be examined by the European Parliament, under second reading. The Parliament will have the possibility to approve, amend or reject the Council position.

Background

The initial interim regulation allowing for a derogation from the e-privacy directive was agreed in 2021, as a short-term solution to enable the detection of child sexual abuse material online until the conclusion of negotiations on the long-term legal framework, and was extended once in 2024 for a period of two years. This initial interim regulation lapsed on 3 April 2026. The Council position adopted today is intended to bridge the gap until a new EU law, currently on the table of the Council and the European Parliament, offers a long-term legal framework for the detection of online child sexual abuse.

The Council's adoption of its position today comes after European Parliament President Roberta Metsola stated on 18 June 2026 in her address to the European Council, that it was time to move on with the proposal for interim rules on child sexual abuse and to look at how to find political agreement.

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