The EU has introduced a new Chat Control proposal: Mandatory scanning is gone, but Article 4’s ‘risk mitigation’ clause could still push services toward scanning private and encrypted messages. Anonymity could be severely limited: Age-verification rules would make anonymous accounts difficult, affecting journalists, whistleblowers, and users who rely on privacy for safety. The scope of scanning is expanding: The proposal allows detection of chat text and metadata, raising concerns about large-scale monitoring across the EU’s 450M citizens. The technology behind it still isn’t viable: Experts say safe CSAM detection in encrypted apps doesn’t exist yet, even Apple abandoned its own client-side scanning system after backlash.