EU Message Scanning Is Live and End-to-End Encryption Could Be Next

Millions of EU citizens already send messages through systems that scan them. Vyara Savova, senior policy lead at the European Ethereum Institute, warns that end-to-end encryption sits next in line.

The current rules come from a derogation to the ePrivacy directive. Lawmakers extended that derogation in July 2026, and it now runs until April 2028.

EU Chat Control Already Reads Whole Messages

In an interview with BeInCrypto, Savova separated two files that critics often merge into one. The first lets providers scan voluntarily. The second would turn scanning into a legal duty.

Most large platforms already use the voluntary route. Therefore, EU message scanning is not a future risk for most users. It is a current default.

Savova explained how the mechanism works in practice.

"Basically what is happening is you have this possibility to scan voluntarily… messages for a specific type of content. But then in order for you to scan for a specific type of content, you still check the whole message."

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