Bottom line: The EPP group pushed through a procedural maneuver to enable suspicionless chat monitoring despite a parliamentary majority voting against the measure.
The EU Parliament voted to extend chat monitoring rules even though a majority of Members voted against the measure. A procedural tactic by the EPP group proved decisive.
The EU Parliament has approved an extension of chat monitoring regulations, with the vote decided by a tactical move by the centre-right EPP group. A majority of parliamentarians had opposed suspicionless monitoring of chat content, but a procedural maneuver by the EPP ultimately led to the retention of the regulation.
For compliance officers, this means the legal basis for chat monitoring measures remains in place in the EU. This particularly affects companies that work with or operate online services, as they may potentially be subject to monitoring obligations.
The decision illustrates the ongoing tension between security interests and data protection requirements in EU legislative processes. Organizations need to clarify the extent to which internal compliance policies on communication monitoring must be harmonized with this extension and how employee rights can be preserved.
Source: www.golem.de · Published 9 July 2026
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