Initial Observations on the European Commission’s E-Evidence Proposals

On April 17, the European Commission (EC) published its long-awaited draft legislation on E-Evidence (“E-Evidence”) to facilitate cross-border demands for internet users’ communications content and metadata.

Commissioners Jourova (Justice), Avramopoulos (Home Affairs), and King (Security) proposed two separate pieces of legislation: (i) a Regulation (“Regulation”) that enables law enforcement authorities in European Union (EU) Member States to issue production orders on communications and cloud providers based in other Member States or based outside of the European Union, regardless of where the data is located; and (ii) a Directive (“Directive”) that would require Member States to enact legislation compelling providers that offer services in an EU Member State to establish a legal representative in an EU Member State for the receipt of cross-border demands.

Source: Initial Observations on the European Commission’s E-Evidence Proposals