11 March 2026, Brussels, Belgium – DOT Europe welcomes today’s vote by the European Parliament to adopt its negotiating mandate on the extension of the temporary derogation to the ePrivacy Directive, which provides the legal basis for communications services to voluntarily detect, report and remove child sexual abuse (CSA).
The vote represents an important step towards avoiding a legal gap that would otherwise disrupt long-standing efforts to combat child sexual abuse online. The temporary derogation has enabled companies for more than a decade to proactively detect and report CSA to authorities and specialised organisations.
However, DOT Europe regrets that the Parliament’s position does not maintain a clear legal basis for the proactive detection of grooming and unknown child sexual abuse material. Limiting the scope of voluntary detection risks weakening existing child protection mechanisms and could make it more difficult to identify new victims.
“Adopting a negotiating mandate is an important step to ensure continuity in the fight against child sexual abuse online. Voluntary detection has been a cornerstone of these efforts for many years and maintaining a clear legal framework is essential,” said Ben Brake, Director General of DOT Europe.
“At the same time, restricting the scope of voluntary detection risks undermining the very systems that help identify new victims and prevent abuse. We hope the upcoming negotiations with the Council will address these gaps and preserve the full effectiveness of well-established technologies,” said Gwenaëlle Mercier, Policy Manager.
DOT Europe now calls on the co-legislators to move swiftly in trilogue negotiations to ensure the extension provides legal certainty and maintains the effectiveness of voluntary detection efforts while work continues on the long-term legislative framework to combat child sexual abuse online.
ENDS
For more information from DOT Europe contact:
+32(0) 472 26 83 02
Notes to the editor:
DOT Europe is the voice of the leading internet companies in Europe. DOT Europe’s mission is to develop ideas and support policy initiatives that foster an innovative, open and safe internet for Europe’s citizens and businesses. More information is available here: https://doteurope.eu/
DOT Europe represents 21 of the leading internet companies: Airbnb, Alibaba, Amazon EU, Apple, Booking.com, Discord, Dropbox, eBay, Etsy, Expedia Group, Google, Indeed, King, Meta, Microsoft, Mozilla, OpenAI, Snap, Spotify, TikTok and Yahoo.
Its members produce and manage a variety of products, services and applications including browsers, entertainment platforms, social networks, marketplaces and review sites. More information is available here: https://doteurope.eu/members
