The Estonian delegation to the European Union Commission (ELAK) said that Estonia does not support the EU plan. The plan aims to scan all messages to find materials related to child abuse. Estonia believes that this infringes too much on people's privacy.
ELAK Chairman Peeter Tali said that protecting children is important, but it cannot be a reason to infringe on everyone's privacy. He said that Estonia cannot agree to all messages being scanned before they are sent.
Tali emphasized that many other countries are also against this plan. He was glad that the plan was put on pause, but if it comes up again, Estonia will vote against it.
The EU wants to combat child abuse since 2022. However, countries have not agreed on how to do it. Some countries are willing to infringe on privacy, others, like Estonia, are not.
Estonia supports the protection of children but does not support the scanning of messages. Estonia believes that if scanning is refused and the service is blocked, people's rights are violated.
Germany said on Thursday that they also do not support this plan. Germany is a large country, and their decision is of great importance.