EU’s Chat Control Law Risks Driving Users to Web3, Experts Warn
As European lawmakers edge closer to a vote on the controversial “Chat Control” legislation, privacy experts warn the measure could break encryption, erode public trust in messaging apps, and accelerate the adoption of decentralized Web3 platforms.
What Chat Control Proposes
The law, formally known as the Regulation to Prevent and Combat Child Sexual Abuse, would require platforms to scan private messages for illegal content before encryption. Critics say this would create a backdoor into secure systems, undermining the EU’s own commitments to privacy.
Hans Rempel, co-founder and CEO of Diode, called the proposal a dangerous overreach.
“Giving an inherently corruptible entity nearly unlimited visibility into the private lives of individuals is incompatible with an honest value statement of digital privacy,” Rempel
Legal and Privacy Concerns
Elisenda Fabrega, general counsel at Brickken, argued that the law may conflict with Articles 7 and 8 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which protect communications confidentiality and personal data.
She highlighted that client-side scanning could enable monitoring of all content on user devices, even without suspicion of illegal activity.
Risk of Breaking Public Trust
Experts warn that forcing surveillance into messaging platforms could cause users to abandon them entirely.
“Encryption is not only a technical feature, it is a promise to users that their private communications will remain confidential,” Fabrega said.
This erosion of trust could prompt migration toward decentralized Web3 platforms, which use encryption by design and allow users to maintain full control of their data.
“Web3’s privacy battle cry is ‘Not your keys, not your data,’” Rempel said. “This is true self-custody for data.”
Germany Holds the Deciding Vote
Currently, 15 EU member states support the proposal, but they fall short of the required 65% population threshold. Germany’s vote will likely decide whether the law passes.
“If Germany abstains or votes no, the law is expected to fail,” Rempel noted. “But it won’t be the last attempt to subvert fundamental human rights in the name of safety.”
