Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Europe’s surveillance crisis

Europe’s surveillance crisis

Law enforcement and security agencies are bristling at orders to limit their data collection practices.
Law enforcement and privacy make terrible bedfellows, Europe is learning.

After an EU watchdog ordered the bloc’s intelligence agency to delete troves of data, Europol has fired back, arguing that the order — made in the name of privacy rights — will harm investigations.

The EU’s Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson amplified that note of alarm this week in an interview with POLITICO, warning that scores of criminal probes would be jeopardized if the privacy regulator has its way and law enforcement agencies have to start dumping data they’ve collected.

The EU has long needled the United States over its surveillance practices, with the bloc’s top court famously ruling that Europeans’ data isn’t safe in the United States following the NSA spying scandal revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Yet Europe’s security apparatus now faces its own reckoning with privacy — as newly empowered regulators start issuing deletion orders to security agencies, and governments bristle at legal demands to stop retaining data in bulk on their citizenry.

The argument may offer some comfort to U.S. security officials who’ve faced years of withering transatlantic criticism about privacy. But Europeans aren’t laughing.

“The potential risk of the decision is huge. If a member state or national police cannot use Europol to help with the analysis of big data ... then they will be blind because a lot of national police forces do not have the capacity to deal with this big data,” she said.

The argument is heating up almost three years after the EU brought its privacy rulebook, the GDPR, online. While most public focus has been on reining in corporate giants like Google and Facebook — to the delight of many EU politicians — security agencies, which aren't covered by the GDPR, are also facing tougher scrutiny via other privacy tools.

Reacting to the order from the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), Europol said it typically needs to hold data longer than six months in order to effectively fight against ills like terrorism and child abuse.

Johansson and others warn that applying the EDPS's order — and scrapping data after six months — would hamper the EU’s ability to take on cases like last year’s dismantling of encrypted services EncroChat and Sky ECC, which led to the arrests of dozens of drug traffickers and suspected criminals. The EDPS is in charge of overseeing privacy compliance in EU institutions.

Indeed, while the 27-member bloc is proud of its world-leading record on privacy, touting its General Data Protection Regulation as the global gold standard, there is a growing push to give law enforcement and security agencies greater access to citizens’ data.

Johansson is spearheading talks to revive an EU-wide data retention scheme, where national agencies are given bulk access to personal data held by private companies, even though the bloc’s top court has time and again found that such schemes violate privacy rights.

There’s also broad support among EU countries for a framework to facilitate access to encrypted messages, with the European Commission committed to set out “a way forward” on the topic later this year.

Europol, despite having its wrist slapped over its data handling, faces having its powers to process large data sets and exchange information with private companies bolstered under a reform of its mandate.

As Chloé Berthélémy of the European Digital Rights NGO puts it: "The EDPS has taken a critical step today to finally end Europol's unlawful processing of data … Unfortunately, the reform of Europol to be adopted soon … will reverse all these efforts as it is set to legalize the very same practices that undermine data protection and fair trial rights."
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Hungary Ranked Among the World’s Safest Travel Destinations for 2025
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Man Convicted of Fraud After Booking Over 120 Free Flights Posing as Flight Attendant
Iran Launches Extensive Missile Attack on Israel Following Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites
Beata Thunberg Rebrands as Beata Ernman Amidst Sister's Activism Controversy
Hungarian Parliament Approves Citizenship Suspension Law
Prime Minister Orbán Criticizes EU's Ukraine Accession Plans
Hungarian Delicacies Introduced to Japanese Market
Hungary's Industrial Output Rises Amid Battery Sector Slump
President Sulyok Celebrates 15 Years of Hungarian Unity Efforts
×