Hungarian Presidency Revises EU CSAM Detection Law
The Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union has introduced a new compromise text on the draft law to detect child sexual abuse material (CSAM), focusing exclusively on known material. This adjustment aims to alleviate privacy concerns, as the detection will be limited to content that has already been identified, rather than scanning private messages on platforms like WhatsApp or Gmail. The updated text, dated 9 September, also revises the roles of the EU Centre and Coordinating Authority, making the changes from previous versions clear.
Detection orders in the new compromise text are now confined to known CSAM and visual content, as indicated in earlier documents. Service providers are required to identify and flag the dissemination of known CSAM on their platforms. The new document has removed previous provisions that required the reporting of new CSAM, instead focusing on user-notified or repeatedly detected cases with pseudonymised reports to protect personal data until verification.
The EU Centre, initially proposed to create databases for both known and new CSAM, will now focus solely on known material. This change excludes new material and grooming from its scope. For interpersonal communication services, the document specifies that CSAM must be detected before it is sent or delivered to another user, removing the requirement for providers to install technologies to detect new CSAM.
Additionally, the Coordinating Authority is tasked with informing providers about significant risks of misuse by high-risk services for spreading new CSAM or soliciting children. The provider must then collaborate with the EU Centre to develop detection technologies. The evaluation section mandates the EU Commission to assess the need for including the detection of new CSAM and solicitation, analyzing relevant detection technologies’ development, readiness, and error rates.
Source: Compromise on child sexual abuse law focuses on known material, simplifies authority roles
