This issue centers on EU legislation often referred to as 'Chat Control' or the Regulation to Prevent and Combat Child Sexual Abuse. It proposes mandatory 'client-side scanning,' where AI software on a user's own device scans messages and photos for illegal content before they are encrypted and sent. Proponents argue this is the only way to catch predators hiding behind encryption. Opponents, including privacy advocates and tech experts, argue it installs a permanent 'bug' in everyone's pocket, fundamentally destroys the mathematical guarantee of secure communication, and creates a backdoor that hackers or hostile governments could exploit.
Response rates from 46 European Union voters.
Trend of support over time for each answer from 46 European Union voters.
Loading data...
Loading chart...
Trend of how important this issue is for 46 European Union voters.
Loading data...
Loading chart...
Unique answers from European Union voters whose views went beyond the provided options.
Based on 46 responses to this question.
These results come from VOTA's ongoing political issues survey. We collect over a million responses per day, filter out duplicate and multiple submissions, and break the results down by political party, ideology, age, state, and census demographics (income, race, education, household).
VOTA is non-partisan — we don't advocate for any party, candidate, or position. We report what the public tells us.
Writing about this issue? Use the live data and link back to the full results.
