“On this basis, the Parliament firmly rejected rules which would force companies to scan huge volumes of people’s private messages – instead now requiring there to be reasonable suspicion.”
All seven political groups backed the Parliament’s position on November 22. The Council’s own lawyers had already warned the original plan would violate the essence of the right to privacy. The Council still has no negotiating mandate, and the deadline before the June 2024 elections is early February. The Commission wanted to scan everyone. It got told to find a suspect first.