Government backs EU proposals to scan personal messages for child-sex-abuse images

The Government is supporting an EU proposal to compel tech companies to scan people's private online messages for evidence of child-abuse images and grooming.

The Government has signalled strong support for radical EU proposals that would force tech companies to scan people’s private online communications, including encrypted messages, for child-sexual-abuse imagery and grooming behaviour.

As previously reported in the Irish Examiner, the plans, drafted by the European Commission, have been welcomed by children's groups, but opposed by civil-rights advocates.