EU countries pass online child pornography law, Netherlands votes against
BRUSSELS – Under the law, national governments may require these companies to remove material related to or the ability to search for child pornography from their websites. If they do not comply, they risk a fine.
The Netherlands voted against the legislation. This happened under pressure from the House of Representatives, which earlier this week passed a motion regarding concerns about privacy. The House is afraid that private messages via services like WhatsApp and Signal will be monitored if tech companies are required to monitor for child pornography.
A broad majority of member states was needed to adopt the law. Therefore, a vote in favor from the Netherlands was not necessary. France, in particular, was a proponent of the law. In that country, there has been much uproar in recent weeks over child-like sex dolls being sold through the online store Shein.
The bill now states that digital companies are not required to scan their content for child pornography, but may do so voluntarily.
A so-called EU Center for the Sexual Abuse of Children is being established to assist member states and tech companies in implementing the law. Victims of child pornography can also turn to the center. The center will also share information with national police services and Europol.
Approval from the European Parliament is still needed before the law can take effect.
(November 26, 2025)
