The European Parliament will vote on Chat Control tomorrow morning. Chat Control will make it possible to scan all private chats, emails and messages for “forbidden content” even before they are sent. EU leaders say it’s needed to stop child abuse material but critics argue it’s just another step toward a full surveillance state. After failing to pass the law multiple times previously, tomorrow’s vote has been rigged through procedural maneuvers to favor approval. After MEPs rejected the measure in March with 311 votes against, the largest group suddenly pushed an urgent procedure this week to force a new plenary vote on Thursday, the final session before summer recess. This revives the proposal as a second reading, meaning rejection now demands an absolute majority of 361 votes rather than a simple majority against. Proponents thus need only prevent strong opposition, inverting the usual dynamic. Timing ensures many MEPs will be absent or traveling home for the summer vacations, with non-votes effectively counting toward passage by making the high threshold harder to reach. Opponents denounce this as unprecedented and anti-democratic, bypassing the prior “no” and Parliament’s own rules. The critics claim the sudden vote ignores widespread concerns over mass surveillance without warrants, false positives flooding police with innocent content, encryption risks and treating all citizens as suspects.