European lawmakers try to balance protection and privacy with law on explicit images of children

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union lawmakers have adopted a series of amendments to a draft law that is intended to keep sexually explicit photos and videos of minors from circulating online. The EU lawmakers say they are trying to find a balance between protecting children and protecting privacy. The draft position adopted by the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on Tuesday would require internet providers to mitigate the risk of their services being used for the sexual abuse or exploitation of children. But lawmakers proposed excluding end-to-end encrypted material from detection, while making sure court-approved detection still can be used to locate illegal content. Several steps remain before the bill might become law.