On 30 June 2026, the Council's Justice and Home Affairs Counsellors are scheduled to meet in Brussels to discuss the outcome of the fifth trilogue on the proposed regulation to prevent and combat child sexual abuse (CSA) and to examine a Presidency text extending the interim derogation under Regulation (EU) 2021/1232. The meeting, set for 10:00 at the Justus Lipsius Building, will review the results of the trilogue held on 29 June 2026 and consider document 11100/26, which proposes an extension of the current temporary legal framework allowing providers of electronic communications services to continue using voluntary detection technologies.
The CSA Regulation proposal, first introduced by the European Commission in May 2022, aims to establish permanent rules requiring online platforms to detect, report, and remove child sexual abuse material. The file has been subject to lengthy negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council, with the fifth trilogue marking a critical step toward a final compromise. The interim Regulation 2021/1232, which provides a temporary derogation from ePrivacy rules for voluntary detection, is set to expire, and the Presidency text seeks to extend its application period to avoid a legal gap while the permanent regulation is finalised.
The outcome of the trilogue and the extension will affect online service providers, who face compliance obligations under both the interim and permanent frameworks; child protection NGOs, which advocate for robust detection requirements; civil liberties groups, which raise privacy and data protection concerns; and EU member states, which must implement and enforce the rules. The meeting will set the stage for the next steps in the legislative process, with the Council expected to adopt a position following the counsellors' review.