Jason Oxman President and Chief Executive Officer at Information Technology Industry Council | Official website
BRUSSELS – The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), a global tech trade association, joined various groups across the tech industry today to advocate for the preservation of both safety and privacy in the Council's position on the Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) Regulation. This stance emphasizes maintaining the integrity of end-to-end encryption (E2EE), particularly in light of recent developments within the Council Law Enforcement Working Party.
"We urge Member States to discard any proposal that would mandate access by any third party to communications and digital data which are not meant to be accessed, read or edited, before or during transmission of such data or while the data is at rest," stated the coalition. "The proposal can be improved to benefit all users, including children, by enabling proactive processing of personal and other communications data, which includes voluntary detection and prevention by all number-independent interpersonal communication service (NIICS) providers in order to tackle CSA on their services."
Laura Wiesenfeld, ITI Policy Manager for Europe, commented on the industry's commitment: "The tech industry takes seriously the need to protect children online and is committed to implementing effective measures to do so. In such a delicate matter, we urge lawmakers to move responsibly and carefully to develop solutions that strike a proper balance, also preserving privacy and security." She added that this involves creating an intentionally weighted system of voluntary detection in NIICS that can work effectively with law enforcement while maintaining safeguards for encrypted communications.
Read the full statement here.
