EU Parliament allowed the temporary Chat Control 1.0 rule to remain in force, permitting suspicionless scanning of private messages on platforms such as Instagram, Discord, Snapchat, Skype, Xbox, Gmail and iCloud, after a vote failed to reach the required majority. The latest vote recorded 314 against, 276 in favor and 17 abstentions, falling short of the 361 votes needed for an absolute majority. A separate amendment to limit scanning to suspects identified by the judiciary received 322 votes for and 255 against but also failed to achieve the required majority. Dr. Patrick Breyer, former MEP and civil‑rights activist, said the outcome undermines democratic will and hampers effective child protection. He noted that the volume of suspected abuse reports from the United States has dropped by 50 % since 2022, according to EU Commission figures, and that mass scanning accounted for only 36 % of abuse reports in 2024. The German Federal Criminal Police Office reported that 48 % of alerts are not criminally relevant, while crime statistics show that 40 % of investigations target minors themselves. Breyer added that 99 % of reports generated by Meta consist of previously known material, which he said does little to stop ongoing abuse. The EU Commission said there is no evidence that suspicionless scanning has increased convictions or rescued children, and said existing tools such as court‑ordered wiretaps and user reports remain available. The interim regulation will stay in effect until 2028 or until a permanent agreement is reached, with negotiations resuming in September. The debate over privacy and child‑safety measures is set to continue.