The debate over the so-called Chat Control – officially the EU Regulation on the Prevention and Combating of Child Sexual Abuse – has stirred intense controversy. In the media and across social networks, people argue fiercely: Is this about protecting children or about state surveillance and the loss of privacy?
Yet in this heated discussion, something essential is often forgotten: the perspective of the victims – and the social and political consequences this debate has for the fundamental values of the European Union and Germany.
🔹 When Data Protection Seems More Important Than Child Protection
Many victims and survivors of sexual violence watch the public debate with growing frustration.
When headlines and online posts keep repeating that privacy must always come first, it can feel as though data protection has become more important than human protection.
This perception has serious consequences:
- Loss of trust: Victims feel abandoned by society. They see a world that protects offenders’ data more than children’s safety.
- Silence instead of speaking out: Those who have suffered abuse lose even more courage to talk about it – fearing that once again, nobody will truly listen or act.
A well-meant goal – the defense of privacy – thus turns into a barrier of silence for those most in need of protection.
🔹 Offenders Exploit Fear Campaigns
Offenders and organized networks follow the public debate closely.
They know that every political or technical step toward prevention triggers loud opposition – often fueled by fear campaigns, misinformation, and exaggeration.
Some offenders even hide behind the arguments of those opposing the regulation, pretending to defend freedom while actually defending impunity.
This creates a dangerous paradox:
The louder the public resists chat control, the safer digital spaces become for offenders.
In doing so, the true goals of the EU – protection, safety, and solidarity – are undermined.
🔹 Values Under Pressure – What Is at Stake for Europe and Germany
The European Union and Germany see themselves as communities of shared values.
Their core principles are human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and the protection of human rights – especially the protection of the most vulnerable.
But when public opinion places data protection above child protection, a dangerous imbalance emerges:
- The human dignity of victims is diminished.
- Trust in the rule of law erodes, as offenders appear better protected than children.
- The credibility of European values weakens when freedom is understood only as freedom from oversight – not as freedom in safety.
Europe must not lose its moral compass out of fear of its own technology or responsibility.
🔹 Responsibility Instead of Fear
The challenge is not to choose between privacy or protection – it is to combine both.
Technology can help identify offenders, protect children, and preserve privacy – if used responsibly, transparently, and within the rule of law.
Fear campaigns claiming otherwise divide society, weaken protection for victims, and empower offenders.
Europe must have the courage to act rationally and responsibly, guided by facts rather than fear.
🔹 Conclusion
The Chat Control debate is a moral and political test for our society.
It reveals how seriously we take humanity, responsibility, and the values that define the EU and Germany.
Child protection is not an attack on freedom – it is its foundation.
A society that protects its children protects itself.
And a politics that resists fear, embraces responsibility, and builds trust will strengthen the Europe we need:
a Europe 4.0 – safe, free, and profoundly human.
Zukunftsprojekt Deutschland und Europa 4.0 – KI und Quantencomputing für moderne Sicherheit, Zukunftstechnologien und Astrobiologie 