Poland will “never agree” to any EU legislation that would require instant messaging services such as Messenger, WhatsApp or Signal to monitor users for evidence of child abuse, the country’s digital affairs minister said.
Society
Poland opposes mandatory EU ‘chat monitoring’ law to combat child abuse
fot. TVP
Maria Kamińska
Edited by: Piotr Kononczuk
17.11.2025, 17:03
Photo: Envato/Kira_Yan, PAP/Radek Pietruszka
Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said Poland would “never agree" to any mandatory scanning of private communications. Photo: Envato/Kira_Yan, PAP/Radek Pietruszka
Poland will “never agree” to any EU legislation that would require instant messaging services such as Messenger, WhatsApp or Signal to monitor users for evidence of child abuse, the country’s digital affairs minister said.
Politics
Under a revised version of the EU Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) regulation – approved for further work by an EU Council working group last week – instant messaging providers could voluntarily agree to scan users’ communications for child sexual abuse content.
This marks a watering down of an initial proposal – first presented in 2022 – which would have made message scanning mandatory for all platforms, including those offering end-to-end encryption designed to prevent unauthorized access to private communications.
The legislation has raised concerns over potential violations of privacy rights and has been repeatedly revised, so far failing to secure majority support among EU member states.
Commenting on the revised proposal, Poland’s Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, told state news agency PAP on Monday that his country would “never agree to any mandatory scanning", citing concerns over the privacy of communications.
“We are treating the search for a compromise on child protection as a priority and with great consideration,” he said.
“We want legislation that enables us to effectively combat paedophilia while at the same time ensuring the security of all citizens,” he added.
Gawkowski said the latest proposal – put forward by Denmark, which took over the rotating EU Council presidency from Poland in July – aligns with the approach Warsaw advocated during its own presidency of the Council in the first half of 2025.
He also said his team will “monitor the issue” as talks progress, adding that the Polish government’s position would depend on the final draft regulation.
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