1/6 As a new European Commission is confirmed, we say goodbye to some people whose term of office is ending this weekend. Time for us to reflect on a very special relationship with Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson and to hope that successor Magnus Brunner will do better.
2/6 Commissioner Johansson is most infamous for proposing the Child Sexual Abuse Regulation, a.k.a. #ChatControl.
It might be the most criticised EU law of all time, with critique coming from so many experts & stakeholders, including children’s rights groups:
https://edri.org/our-work/most-criticised-eu-law-of-all-time/
3/6 Before the Commission formally proposed the #ChatControl legislation, we sought meetings with Commissioner Johansson. We could and would have warned her what a bad idea it is. Unfortunately, she kept rejecting our requests
So we created a flashy website with a fairly descriptive name to get her attention:
https://has-commissioner-johansson-met-with-digital-rights-groups.eu/
Unfortunately, the answer remains “No” to this day.
4/6 EU policy should be based in evidence; the Commission’s own “Better Regulation” agenda says so.
But not only did the Commissioner repeatedly make false claims about her proposal, fact-checking researchers from TU Delft even called her out for it. Ouch!
https://www.euractiv.com/section/platforms/news/fact-checkers-call-out-commission-on-anti-child-abuse-material-proposal/
5/6 This law - and the processes around it - has been mired in several scandals uncovered by investigative journalists.
https://balkaninsight.com/2023/09/25/who-benefits-inside-the-eus-fight-over-scanning-for-child-sex-content/
We still have questions and so does the European Ombudsman:
https://balkaninsight.com/2024/10/11/europol-revising-conflict-of-interest-screening-after-birn-investigation/
#ChatControl #Lobbying #Europol
6/6 Today, we jest, but we know that Commissioners have a lot of complicated policy files to manage.
So we extend our request again: EDRi is a network with over 50 civil society organisations and experts across Europe and across the field of digital and human rights policy.
Consult us on our expertise, let us discuss policy proposals early and avoid another disaster like #ChatControl this time around.
Commissioner Brunner, our phone line is open. Give us a call!