“Blank intrusion into everyone’s private communications on the internet is not child protection.”

On Wednesday, March 11, 2026, MEP Irena Joveva participated in the plenary debate entitled Child Sexual Abuse Online: Protect Children, Not Perpetrators, where she emphasized that everyone agrees that child protection is essential, but the proposed approaches, which involve mass interference in private communications on the Internet, are not an appropriate solution.

In her opening remarks, Joveva warned that the title and the framework of the debate create a misleading impression, as if opponents of the proposed measures are defending child sexual abusers. In her opinion, the proposed measures, such as mass interference in private communications, do not mean effective protection of children, but rather set a dangerous precedent for general surveillance of the communications of all users.

She also highlighted the role of large technology companies, which already have large amounts of personal data at their disposal, and that additional powers to review private messages could further increase interference with individuals’ privacy and open up room for abuse, including the possibility of broader control over society:

“It means that privately sent pictures of our children in swimsuits will continue to be reviewed by Facebook staff. It means that intimate photos of couples may suddenly no longer be private. Above all, it means unimaginable possibilities for surveillance of people. A wet dream for repressive regimes.”

In conclusion, she concluded that measures to combat child sexual abuse online should be specifically targeted at perpetrators of criminal acts, rather than designed as a general surveillance of all internet users, and at the same time called for caution in political and public debates in which the argument of child protection is often used, as such calls may hide solutions that ultimately harm the rights of everyone – including children.