- Vitalik Buterin opposes the EU’s Chat Control, warning it eliminates digital privacy for millions.
- Critics argue the law creates dangerous security vulnerabilities and undermines end-to-end encryption.
Vitalik Buterin has publicly opposed a proposed European Union law known as “Chat Control.” He states this legislation endangers a fundamental right to privacy for online communications.
The formal name for the proposal is the Child Sexual Abuse Regulation, or CSAR. The regulation would require messaging services to scan private messages and photos. This scanning would apply even to applications with encryption, such as WhatsApp and Signal. The mandate extends beyond simple messaging to include email providers, video game chat systems, dating applications, cloud storage services, and digital storefronts.
The stated goal from officials is the prevention of child exploitation. However, a number of critics describe the plan as a system for mass surveillance. They argue it would remove privacy protections for the entire population of the European Union, over 450 million individuals.
Fight Chat Control.
You cannot make society secure by making people insecure.
We all deserve privacy and security, without inevitably hackable backdoors, for our private communications.
The fact that the government officials want to exempt themselves from their own law is… https://t.co/OY5NXyk58j
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) September 27, 2025
In a post on the social media platform X, Buterin wrote that people should fight the proposal. He stated that society’s security cannot be achieved by making its individual members insecure. Buterin emphasized that everyone deserves private and secure communications, which should not include security weaknesses that can be exploited.
He also highlighted a specific element from a leaked document. This draft suggests that government ministers, along with intelligence, police, and military personnel, would be exempt from the scanning requirements imposed on the general public. Buterin noted that the desire of officials to exclude themselves from their own law is very informative.
The proposed system depends on a method called “client-side scanning.” This technique involves checking a message on a user’s own device before it is encrypted and sent. The proposal appears to conflict with the EU’s own Charter of Fundamental Rights, which explicitly ensures respect for private life and the protection of personal data.
Agreement on the proposal is not unanimous among EU member states. Nations including France and Spain have expressed support. Others, like Austria and Poland, are firmly against it. The position of Germany is considered especially important, as its vote could determine the final outcome.
