By Vaidotas Juknys, Chief Commercial Officer at Decodo
Europe is approaching a vote that could fundamentally reshape how businesses handle digital communications and data privacy. The EU “Chat Control” proposal is designed to combat illegal content, particularly child sexual abuse material, but its impact reaches far beyond the intended purpose. While much of the public debate focuses on individual privacy, businesses are likely to feel the effects first.
At its core, Chat Control would require companies to scan private messages, including encrypted ones, using a technology known as client-side scanning. This means messages are analyzed on users’ devices before they’re encrypted, with AI identifying illegal content and automatically alerting authorities. Services offering anonymity, real-time messaging, or encryption are classified as “high-risk,” which generally includes almost every major communication platform or a product that features a messaging system.
While the legislation is framed as a child protection measure, its implementation introduces serious questions for businesses about security, privacy, and operational feasibility. End-to-end encryption has been the gold standard for keeping communications safe. But now, if you have to poke holes in it to follow this law, you’re basically creating a weak spot that hackers or other bad actors could exploit.
What does it mean for your business?
Let’s be honest – this legislation is going to shake things up for companies in a big way. We’re talking about major compliance costs and technical headaches, from completely reworking messaging systems to keeping users on board who are rightfully worried about being watched. If you’re operating in industries like finance, healthcare, law firms, and tech companies, you’re going to be walking a tightrope between following the law and actually protecting your sensitive data and intellectual property.
For cloud and platform providers, it gets even messier. Meeting scanning requirements means building entirely new technical capabilities, reworking where data lives, and overhauling governance structures, all while making sure your enterprise customers’ security doesn’t take a hit.
The evidence is already visible
At Decodo, we’re already seeing companies adapt. The use of SOCKS5 proxies, a solution that enables cross-protocol support and maintains compatibility with TLS/SSL, has surged dramatically in Europe, increasing nearly 1,770% in recent months. This trend reflects businesses’ efforts to protect sensitive data while remaining compliant with evolving rules.
Similarly, proxy adoption across EU member states underscores how companies are responding to regulatory uncertainty:
| Country | Proxy usage increase |
| Austria | +314% |
| Spain | +140% |
| Sweden | +32% |
| Italy | +62% |
| Germany | +68% |
| Denmark | +1,026% |
| EU average | +274% |
These figures are a clear signal – businesses are preparing for a new reality where privacy, security, and regulatory compliance must coexist.
The risks are real (but so are the opportunities)
There’s a reason this proposal is so controversial. The risks are ones no business can afford to ignore.
First, there’s the legal minefield. Client-side scanning could directly contradict GDPR’s core principles around data minimization and privacy protections. That’s not a theoretical concern, it’s a real pathway to liability that could hit your bottom line hard. We’re potentially looking at a situation where complying with one law puts you in violation of another, and that’s exactly the kind of regulatory trap that keeps legal teams up at night.
Then there are the operational struggles. Anyone who’s worked with automated scanning systems knows they’re far from perfect. False positives aren’t occasional glitches, they’re constant. You’ll need more staff, more oversight, and more processes to review flagged content manually. That’s not just an inconvenience, it’s a significant drain on resources that could be spent on actual business growth.
And perhaps most damaging is the trust issue. Once customers start seeing you as part of the surveillance apparatus, whether fair or not, that perception is incredibly hard to shake. Your brand becomes associated with monitoring rather than protection.
But here’s where it gets interesting. If you’re willing to get ahead of this thing, there’s real strategic value to be captured.
Think about trust for a moment. When everyone’s worried about privacy, and they absolutely are, companies that actually protect it and are transparent about how they do it will win market share. It’s basic positioning – while your competitors work on the bare minimum, you can differentiate yourself as the business that saw this coming and built privacy into your brand’s DNA.
And then there’s the innovation angle. Investment in next-generation encryption, anonymization, and privacy-first technologies doesn’t just help you comply. You become the standard-bearer, the one who sets the pace while everyone else plays catch-up.
Preparing for the uncertain future
Even before the October 14, 2025, vote, businesses can take concrete steps to safeguard operations – map sensitive data flows, adopt privacy-forward tools, build infrastructure with compliance in mind, and work with customers to build their trust.
Companies that act early can turn regulatory uncertainty into a source of competitive advantage. Those who will invest in innovation of privacy, security, and compliance will not only navigate potential risks but also strengthen resilience and credibility in the eyes of customers and partners.
