Does the end justify the means? The European Commission’s proposed regulation laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse

The European Commission’s Proposed Regulation Laying Down Rules to Prevent and Combat Child Sexual Abuse aims to impose obligations related to detecting, reporting, removing, and blocking known and new online child sexual abuse material (CSAM), as well as the solicitation of children (grooming), on providers of hosting services, interpersonal communication services, software application stores, internet access services, and other relevant services. This paper navigates through state-of-the-art technological tools for detecting online CSAM, scrutinizing their potential legal impact and technical issues associated with each tool and unveiling potential fundamental rights implications. It strives to answer the question of whether the proposed rules are aligned with the state-of-the-art detection technologies in effectively addressing online CSAM without jeopardizing other fundamental rights, intending to foster a nuanced understanding of the proposal’s potential shortcomings. Upholding democracy and the presumption of innocence demands careful consideration of the impact of new technologies, emphasizing the importance of thorough studies to inform legal frameworks. Without such scrutiny, the proposed regulation risks undermining fundamental rights in its pursuit of child protection in the digital landscape.