To me this is simply an act of terrorism. People who are behind those proposals should be charged and face trial.
There is no excuse for this and it is a stain on EU history for even letting this go so far.
Anyone proposing this should not only be sacked but also referred to de-radicalisation / anti-terrorism programme in their country and forever banned from holding any kind of public sector office.
There is no excuse.
This. ChatControl proposal is an act of terrorism. Doesn't matter it's done by those in power.
Why downvote? Because the terrorists wear suits, speak in committees, are mostly white, and there’s no blood on the floor (yet)? The method is different, but the aim is the same: intimidation and control of a population for political ends.
If terrorism is defined as using violence or threats to intimidate a population for political or ideological ends, then “Chat Control” qualifies in substance.
Violence doesn’t have to leave blood. Psychological and coercive violence is recognised in domestic law (see coercive control offences) and by the WHO. It causes measurable harm to bodies and minds.
The aim is intimidation. The whole purpose is to make people too scared to speak freely. That is intimidation of a population, by design.
It is ideological. The ideology is mass control - keeping people compliant by stripping them of private spaces to think, talk, and dissent.
The only reason it’s not “terrorism” on paper is because states write definitions that exempt themselves. But in plain terms, the act is indistinguishable in effect from terrorism: deliberate fear, coercion, and the destruction of free will.
You can argue legality if you like, but the substance matches the textbook definition.