Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has warned that the EU’s revived Chat Control plan threatens cybersecurity for everyone, after European lawmakers voted Tuesday to fast-track the message-scanning bill back for a decision.

Parliament will now hold a real vote on Thursday on whether to bring the scanning rule back, and opponents need 361 votes to stop it, a higher bar than usual because this counts as a second attempt at the same proposal.

Tuesday’s vote itself was procedural. MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) approved the move to reopen the issue by 331 votes to 304, with 11 abstentions. It didn’t restore scanning on its own, it just cleared the way for Thursday’s substantive vote.

Parliament Forces a New EU Chat Control Vote

EU privacy rules normally bar companies from reading private messages. A contested exemption lets platforms such as Meta and Google scan chats for child sexual abuse material (CSAM). However, that carve-out lapsed in April after Parliament rejected an extension in March.

Thursday’s ballot counts as a second reading. Consequently, opponents now need an absolute majority of 361 votes to block it.

Meanwhile, four European Commissioners reportedly urged MEPs in a letter to back the measure. Several lawmakers publicly objected to the maneuver.

Several large platforms reportedly continued voluntary scanning after the legal basis lapsed. Greens negotiator Markéta Gregorová called the move an abuse of procedure. She accused the European People’s Party, Parliament’s largest group, of reviving a proposal MEPs had already rejected.

“This is no longer just about protecting privacy, it is about protecting our democracy. No means no.”

Markéta Gregorová, Greens/EFA negotiator on the file, in a statement

Buterin Says Chat Control Threatens Crypto Security

Buterin warned that mandatory scanning of private communications weakens cybersecurity for everyone. He contends that mass monitoring erodes the cryptographic foundations behind secure messaging and decentralized blockchain networks. He has raised similar alarms before, arguing that mass surveillance databases become targets for hackers.

Crypto and Web3 systems depend on strong encryption to protect funds and user data. Encrypted messengers and self-custodied wallets rely on the same mathematical guarantees. The planned permanent regulation would even force providers to bypass end-to-end encryption. His stance feeds a wider Web3 privacy debate over surveillance and digital rights.

The Ethereum co-founder also champions stronger cryptography elsewhere. His recent Lean Ethereum roadmap adds quantum-safe cryptography, a direction that weakened encryption standards would directly undercut.

Charter Doubts Cloud Thursday’s Decision

Critics doubt whether indiscriminate scanning complies with the EU’s fundamental rights charter. Similar tensions surround the bloc’s VPN age verification plans, which drew criticism from privacy advocates last week.

Talks on a permanent child protection regulation continue in parallel. Parliament negotiators there favor targeted detection orders against suspects rather than blanket scanning of every user. Digital rights advocate Patrick Breyer described that approach as a paradigm shift in online child protection.

In contrast, supporters frame the regime as vital for child protection. Parallel US debates over CBDC surveillance risks show how security arguments often prevail over privacy objections.

The privacy question extends to builders, too. Buterin’s own AI experiment raised fresh developer anonymity questions earlier this week.

Thursday’s result will show whether opponents can rally 361 votes. A failed blocking vote would restore scanning across the bloc and deepen the rift between Brussels and the crypto industry.

Source: BeInCrypto