Chat Control: Let's end the secrecy of correspondence

LinkedIn blog post, 23/08/2025, by Sven Franck (en français , in Deutsch)

TL;DR – Even though opposed by 72% of the European population, the full surveillance of our digital communication through Chat Control could soon become reality. Why not also abolish the secrecy of correspondence. After all, a terrorist could send paper letters, so: ban envelopes and read all correspondence across Europe!

Welcome to Orwell's 1984

For some context: In 2022 the European Commission proposed the surveillance of digital correspondence: Chat Control 2.0 means that everything from a chat on LinkedIn, to Whatsapp messages with your grandmother, to all emails, and all stored image data will be scanned in real time for CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material). Because terrorist.

Germany is slated to give up its resistance, meaning a qualified majority (55% of countries and 65% of the population, who are actually against it) supports the proposal and we will get a small dose of Black Mirror in Europe. Speaking of “black”, if Reddit is to be believed, the national co-organizers of so much forced transparency themselves are not willing to out themselves in public. Why not?

And guess what: Someone will have to evaluate all this data? Europe supposedly cannot do “cloud”, so in the end, it will probably be Palantir – already described as “the world’s most evil company” – taked to scrutinize over our most private data. Of course, the Commission is in parallel trying for a third time to push through a data transfer agreement with the USA. It would indeed be inconvenient if all this data could not be transferred to the US to feed AI models.

Seriously: Are you kidding me?

According to Article 10 of the German Basic Law, the secrecy of correspondence as well as postal and telecommunication privacy are inviolable. Even the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Art. 7 Protection of private and family life, and Art. 8 Protection of personal data) will remove the legal basis for Chat Control.

Still, just like with data transfers, facts are being created, which must then be painstakingly annulled through courts. In the meantime, the data flows and we are being monitored. That’s digital anarchy.

Europe needs digital legal certainty. Otherwise, we can consider ourselves lucky if we are only subjected to travel restrictions when we complain to our grandmother about the first 100 days of the new government.

After the last few weeks, the Commission has a lot to make up for. A first step would be to call off this whole thing at the upcoming SOTEU. More information about Chat Control 2.0 and what you can do to help on the website of Patrick Breyer.