More than half of criminal investigations now involve a request to access electronic evidence held in another country, according to a new report published by Europol and Eurojust.
Electronic evidence can include texts, emails and messages sent through apps, but accessing it can be difficult because data may be stored in an unknown location and servers can be spread across multiple countries, the agencies said in their statement on Friday.
There are also no harmonised deadlines across jurisdictions for how long service providers must preserve data or how quickly they must respond to legal requests, they added.
The findings are set out in the SIRIUS Electronic Evidence Situation Report, produced through the SIRIUS Project — a Europol and Eurojust initiative that supports police, prosecutors and service providers dealing with cross-border requests for digital data.
The report said the number of data requests has risen sharply, with volumes 3.5 times higher than in 2018.
It also reported an increase in emergency requests.
Rising demand, new types of provider
Cryptocurrency exchanges are now among the three most frequently requested types of provider for data, the report found.
Judicial authorities often view existing cross-border cooperation mechanisms as slow and procedurally complex, and in some cases this can lead to the loss of electronic evidence, the organisations said.
The report also flagged a lack of awareness among law enforcement about upcoming EU “e-Evidence” legislation, which is designed to make it easier and faster to obtain electronic evidence across borders while safeguarding fundamental rights, according to Europol and Eurojust.
It also said there is no EU-wide data retention framework — rules on how long certain data must be kept — which could lead to the loss of information needed for investigations.
