Vitalik Buterin warns that the EU's "chat control" bill will threaten global digital privacy security.

Recently, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin issued a stern warning regarding the EU's proposed "chat control regulation," pointing out that the bill's practice of comprehensive message scanning under the guise of protecting children would severely threaten citizens' digital privacy and create systemic security vulnerabilities.

Buterin's warning stems from the EU's proposed "chat control" initiative, which requires real-time comparison of messages and files from hundreds of millions of users with government databases of child abuse images, and plans to introduce AI to scan text conversations to "predict risky behavior."

Buterin stated in an analysis on social media platform X that the bill has fundamental logical flaws. He emphasized that "societal security cannot be enhanced by undermining individual security"; any mandatory creation of data backdoors would become a target for hackers and could even be exploited by other government agencies.

Therefore, he advocates that truly effective security reforms should focus on practical measures such as "common sense policing" rather than implementing comprehensive communication surveillance.

Currently, there is a severe divide within the EU regarding this bill. According to data from the privacy rights organization FightChatControl.eu, seven member states, including Austria, Finland, and the Netherlands, have officially expressed opposition, while twelve countries, including France, Spain, and Denmark, have clearly supported it. Major countries like Germany and Italy remain in a wait-and-see stance.

What has sparked even more controversy is that leaked documents from 2024 indicate that the draft bill could provide exemptions for intelligence agencies and law enforcement, a design of "lawmakers not being bound by their own laws" that has faced widespread criticism.

Pratam Rao, co-founder of the blockchain security company QuillAudits, further pointed out that any surveillance system that legislators themselves are unwilling to accept is essentially authoritarian.

As the wave of opposition on social media continues to escalate, this controversy has transcended mere technical discussions and has evolved into a critical game of basic civil rights of citizens in the digital age versus government regulatory powers.

In summary, #Buterin's warning reminds us that the establishment of any monitoring system must withstand the test of "whether lawmakers are willing to accept the same level of monitoring"; otherwise, it will inevitably lead to an imbalance of power. The outcome of this debate will profoundly influence the direction of future digital society development.

#Digital Privacy Security