The European Parliament on Thursday voted against prolonging rules currently in place that allow tech providers to detect child sexual abuse material in private communications.

A total of 311 EU lawmakers voted against the proposal by the European Commission to extend the rules, while 228 voted in favour and 92 abstained.

The current legislation, often referred to as chat control, is set to expire on April 3.

Ahead of the vote, the commission had urged lawmakers to support an extension, warning of serious consequences if they lapse.

In a letter seen by dpa, four EU commissioners called on members of the European Parliament to back prolonging the current framework. Failure to do so would lead to fewer detections, fewer reports to law enforcement and greater impunity for offenders, they said.

The protection of children, not perpetrators, must remain the guiding principle of EU action, commissioners Henna Virkkunen, Magnus Brunner, Michael McGrath and Glenn Micallef wrote.

The measures currently permit platforms such as Google, LinkedIn, Meta, Microsoft and Snapchat to scan communications to identify and report illegal content.

The approach remained controversial amid data protection concerns. Some lawmakers said they would only support an extension if surveillance powers are significantly limited, for example to known material and existing suspicions.

Two images or videos of child sexual abuse are shared online every second, the commissioners said, with Europe at the centre of the problem. According to the Internet Watch Foundation, the EU hosts more child sexual abuse material than any other region in the world.

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