Big Tech vs. Bureaucracy: Google Takes on Regulator Functions in the EU

When state institutions stall, tech giants set their own laws. On April 4, 2026, Google issued a stern statement about continuing to scan networks for CSAM (including AI-generated content), despite the expiration of ePrivacy derogations in the European Union.

This is a direct jab at European bureaucracy ("inaction"). Google is de facto declaring that AI Safety is more important than outdated procedural norms. Following the implementation of ThroughLine filters in OpenAI (April 2 news), Big Tech is forming a supranational moderation standard. Corporations understand: if their neural networks are used to generate banned content, the reputational damage will destroy their Enterprise sales. Therefore, they are willing to breach the grey areas of European legislation to maintain global trust in their algorithms.

Source: Google / Reuters