Chat Control 1.0: the “temporary” measure until 2028
2021 / reactivated July 2026
Regulation (EU) 2021/1232: a derogation from ePrivacy to let platforms voluntarily scan private messages — CSAM, grooming, including in encrypted threads. It expired on 4 April 2026 after a majority vote of Parliament against renewal. Reactivated on 9 July 2026 — the absolute majority to kill it was missing — then confirmed by the Council on 23 July. In force until 3 April 2028.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2021/1232; EP vote 9 July 2026; Council, 23 July 2026; Euronews, 28 July 2026.
COM-2022-209
Under negotiationChat Control 2.0: mandatory scanning, never buried
11 May 2022 / trilogues 2025–2026
The Commission proposal (11 May 2022) wanted mandatory detection orders, including in end-to-end encrypted messaging — an on-device scan. The Danish presidency revived the mandate in the summer of 2025; Peter Hummelgaard withdrew the mandatory orders on 30 October 2025. The Council (November 2025) kept “voluntary” detection, plus a risk duty, plus age verification. In July 2026 the knot is still not cut: voluntary, or targeted orders as a last resort.
Source: European Commission, COM(2022) 209; Council position, Nov. 2025; trilogues since Dec. 2025.
CSAR-AGE-VERIFY
CentrepieceAge verification: the end of anonymity
architecture 2025–2026
Even “voluntary”, the package imposes risk assessment, mitigation measures, and age verification. Patrick Breyer keeps saying it: the moment you must prove you are not a child in order to speak, anonymity falls. A messenger that must scan “if it is at risk” is no longer a messenger. It is a sensor.
Source: Council position, Nov. 2025; fightchatcontrol.eu; Patrick Breyer / EFF, 2025–2026.
Digital euro: 2026, 2027, 2029
preparation 2025–2026
The ECB’s working assumption: a regulation adopted by the end of 2026, a twelve-month pilot in the second half of 2027, a first issuance aimed at 2029. The technical rulebook is moving. This is not a vote for “someday, maybe”. The rails are being laid.
Source: ECB, digital-euro FAQ; Eurosystem timetable, 2026; CNIL, 26 May 2026.
“Never programmable” — but conditional
ECB FAQ / art. 16 of the draft
The ECB writes that the digital euro “will never be programmable money”. The next sentence: it may facilitate “conditional payments”. Holding caps tested up to €3,000. Zero remuneration. A “waterfall” into the bank account. A switch does not need the words “social credit”. It needs a cap, a condition, and a button.
Source: ECB, FAQ Q20; analysis of the caps, 2025–2026; CNIL, digital-euro privacy, 26 May 2026.
Emergencies Act: the freeze, already
February 2022
In February 2022 Ottawa invoked the Emergencies Act against the Freedom Convoy. Accounts of protesters and donors were frozen — without a conviction. That was not a digital currency. It was already a switch. A central-bank currency would not create the power. It would make it instant.
Source: Emergency order, 15 February 2022; Rouleau Commission; asset freezes under the emergency regime.
Bank of Canada: “ready if needed”
September 2024 / work 2026
Ottawa muted the retail digital-dollar project in September 2024. The Bank of Canada did not bury the tool: it says it is ready “if needed”. In 2026 it is still publishing. The Atlantic Council counted 146 countries exploring a CBDC. Canada is not on the sidelines. It is waiting for the pretext.
Source: Bank of Canada, Sept. 2024; work in 2026; Atlantic Council CBDC tracker, May 2026.