The vote means member countries must now decide whether to accept the updated proposal.
Sam Clark
Because of the unusual procedure, voting in Strasbourg was confused and chaotic. One member told Parliament Vice President Sophie Wilmès: “We don’t know what we are voting on.”
The vote means member countries must now decide whether to accept the Parliament’s changes. If they do not, and propose a different version, the law will go to a dreaded “conciliation” procedure. That procedure was used earlier this year to pass a long-stalled law on air passengers’ rights but, other than that, has not been used since 2013.
The continuation of negotiations means tech companies remain without a legal basis to voluntarily scan for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online. A previous version of the law lapsed in April.
Proponents of the temporary law argue that having the legislation in place means children will stay protected online while lawmakers hash out a deal on a permanent legal solution. Critics say it was only ever intended to be temporary and would stall progress on the long-term law.
