Executive Director speech at the 11th EDEN Conference

Dear Director General,
Dear colleagues and friends,

Buenas tardes.

It is a great pleasure for me to be here this afternoon. I am very glad for this speaking invitation at the eleventh conference of Europol's Data Protection Experts Network.

I am a regular visitor to Madrid and to Spain, but I never cease to enjoy the particular atmosphere of Madrid, a vibrant city full of life and wonderful people.

I would like to thank the Spanish Ministry of Interior, the Policía Nacional and the Guardia Civil for hosting us so generously, in the context of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union. Hospitality is a distinctive feature of this city and of Spain. So, thank you very much.

I would also like to thank our partners from the Academy of European Law (ERA) for co-organising this event.

The EDEN conference has established itself as an important forum to debate Data Protection and Law Enforcement.

It is great to see so many of you today. Your input means a lot to us and we are honoured to have so many distinguished experts here on stage and in the audience.

The title of the conference and of the different panels bode well for an entertaining discussion: ‘whisperers of contrast’, ‘walking dead’, ‘dungeons and dragons’...

But, letting aside Netflix series and board games, I would like to make a few reflections on the very serious world of law enforcement in connection to data protection.

After all, policing is all too often a life and death business; a very serious business.

As I have said many times, I do not see data protection and law enforcement as a zero-sum game. There is no privacy without respect for security; there is no liberty without respect for privacy; security requires both certain liberties and privacy. It is not a matter of choice: we need both.

So, if I were a painter rather than a whisperer, I would focus on the harmony of my colours, rather than on their contrast.

It is certainly true that data protection in law enforcement is a nuanced and complex topic. There are indeed many hidden or subtle aspects related to it.

It is therefore important to explore and reflect about these complexities. Not just as an academic exercise, but to better inform our future policy decisions.

As we do so, it is important that we seek clarity and precision, as well as distinct messages – for at least two reasons:

First, because we are exercising our duties in a highly regulated and supervised framework, where legal certainty and legitimate expectations are preferable to grey areas and ambiguity.

Second, because - as I said - we are ultimately dealing with life and death matters.

Our collective role – in EU law enforcement and in the data protection community - is to contribute to an area of freedom, security and justice, one which places the individual at the heart of our activities.

Europol’s specific role is to protect citizens against organised crime and terrorism. But all of us - law enforcement, supervisors and regulators – as public institutions, have to provide for the respect of the rights to life, liberty, security and the protection of personal data. Especially, as one set of rights cannot be enjoyed without the other.

I always advocate for a culture of respect, loyalty and trust among all players in the Justice and Home Affairs area – we are all dealing with very delicate matters. This requires building a strong sense of inter-institutional trust, through objectivity and impartiality. We must ensure that all measures taken are proportional to the aim pursued.

This conference is very much welcomed as it puts on the table a series of topics revolving around technological challenges, that are absolutely relevant for law enforcement.

Today, public authorities – be it law enforcement or supervisory bodies - are faced with a difficult task as they seek to fulfil their responsibilities to protect the individual rights of citizens in the digital environment.

Addressing these challenges requires creative thinking, innovative policy solutions and cross-sector partnerships.

The technological changes are so fundamental and so rapid, that we are just about to comprehend their impact on law enforcement.

However, the issue is not just technology. It is about the adaptability of our law enforcement response, of our legal and regulatory framework and most importantly the level of public acceptance.

For law enforcement agencies, coping with this continuous and swift digital transformation will require a quantum leap if we are to provide for effective future policing.

In order to navigate these challenges, we as law enforcement must embrace innovation and continuous learning, connect with relevant stakeholders, and foster a forward-looking mind set within our organisations.

We established the Europol’s Innovation Lab precisely to identify and develop concrete innovative solutions to support Member States’ operational work.

The Innovation Lab’s Observatory monitors technological developments of relevance to law enforcement. We assess potential benefits and threats and use this knowledge to help better prepare the law enforcement community for the future.

I would like to briefly touch upon some related issues, building on the discussions of EU chiefs of police throughout the last few months.

One key challenge relates to access to data for effective law enforcement in light of the digitalisation of communications.

The digital and physical worlds are intertwined and police agencies must have the same prerequisites to combat crime irrespective of whether it is committed online or in the physical world.

Police agencies in Europe have a sense that we are not yet there, that we are going dark. We need solutions that are compliant and in accordance with the rule of law. Solutions, which at the same time make a real difference for police agencies.

There is a communication side to this. Police agencies must be as transparent as possible and provide concrete examples of how digital data is necessary to prosecute criminals as well as to exonerate innocent people. Public trust in the police is a fundamental prerequisite.

Another challenge relates to legal insecurity in the area of data retention. In the absence of legal certainty of national legal frameworks on data retention, there is a risk that law enforcement agencies cannot access important evidence needed to identify, prevent, investigate and prosecute crimes.

Other challenges relate to the development of generative artificial intelligence and quantum computing technologies.  

Technology brings opportunities, but also risks: unwanted side effects from technology itself or the possibility for criminal actors to exploit it for their own illicit purposes.

These include the production of synthetic media such as deep-fakes which can, for instance, be abused for a variety of purposes: disinformation, fraud, child sexual exploitation, terrorist propaganda, and many others.

In the future, it will become increasingly difficult to discern what is real and what is not, and law enforcement needs to be ready in order to mitigate these types of threats.

Another type of generative artificial intelligence is that of large language models such as ChatGPT.

Here again, criminals can abuse this technology for a number of crime areas. But, on the other hand, large language models may offer some benefits to law enforcement agencies. For example, in supporting officers investigating unfamiliar crime areas, facilitating open source research and intelligence analysis, or to develop technical investigative tools.

Finally, I would like to mention quantum computing and its related technologies, which are going to have a profound impact not just on law enforcement, but society as a whole.

One of the most critical developments relate to the impact quantum computers are going to have on state-of-the-art encryption.
Given their ability to solve certain problems faster than classical computers, the arrival of the universal quantum computer will effectively break the cryptography we employ today to keep our most sensitive data safe.

This means that we need to already start thinking about some of the adverse consequences this type of technology might produce.

At the same time, some potential uses may be interesting for law enforcement. For example, better decryption capabilities, advances in artificial intelligence, and potentially even improved crime scene forensics.

These are just a few of the technological challenges and opportunities we face.

Other challenges derive from a number of recent key legislative instruments, which Europol and Member States law enforcement agencies will have are implementing or will have to implement very soon.

• The Digital Services Act, which introduces harmonized rules for all digital services that operate in the EU, addressing all categories of illegal content, products, services and activities online.
• The Directive on the exchange of law enforcement information, which lays down the rules under which Member States’ law enforcement authorities may exchange existing information and intelligence effectively and expeditiously for the purpose of conducting criminal investigations.
• The Terrorism Content Online Regulation, which aims to ensure that terrorist content available to the public is removed swiftly, in a cooperative and coordinated manner among all EU Member States, Europol and hosting service providers (HSPs).

Dear colleagues and friends,

I tried to give you a quick snapshot of the complexity of the technological and regulatory environment in which law enforcement has to operate, while protecting citizens and fighting organised crime and terrorism.

If we are to achieve both security and privacy in an effective manner, all stakeholders — law enforcement agencies, the technology sector, privacy advocates and the victims of online-enabled crimes — must come together for a reasonable and open public debate on this subject.

We must focus on practical challenges and tangible, realistic and enforceable solutions. Solutions, which should allow citizens to enjoy technological innovation without fear for their civil liberties while empowering law enforcement agencies to serve their function in society.

That is why events like the EDEN conferences are so helpful to come up with fresh and innovative ideas.

I would invite you to actively participate in this debate in a constructive spirit and conscious of our joint aim to make Europe a safer place.

Thank you for your attention and I wish you a very fruitful and entertaining debate.

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