Cross-border law enforcement access to data on the Internet and rule of law challenges in the EU

This policy brief examines the cross-border gathering of data on the Internet by law enforcement authorities in the EU, and the cooperation with private companies. The authors examine the extent to which this cooperation is already taking place in the EU and show that the nature of the current EU legal frameworks in place are of incomplete and scattered nature. This leads to a number of rule of law challenges for the actors involved (law enforcement and the private sector), including for the fundamental right of data protection of the individual subject to these practices. The policy brief argues that these challenges cannot be addressed without a clear multi-actor policy strategy at EU level, which should be rooted in strong rule of law foundations.