Dating apps and videoconferencing could be monitored detect child abuse online under EU rules

According to Euractiv, dating apps and videoconferencing tools could come under the scope of new EU efforts to monitor online communications to stamp out child sexual abuse material. Ongoing negotiations at the European level discuss the possibility to allow (or not) online messaging services to monitor certain online communications. When asked whether dating apps and videoconferencing tools would fall in the scope of these rules, the European Commission appeared to confirm that  it “can be argued that they constitute a (number-independent) interpersonal electronic communications service.” Earlier, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) had published an opinion on the plans, noting that the “measures envisaged by the Proposal would constitute an interference with the fundamental rights to respect for private life and data protection of all users of very popular electronic communications services, such as instant messaging platforms and applications.”