Van Linthout wants information about who is in contact with whom, not what\u2019s inside the exchange. Too often, it\u2019s denied.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Law enforcement officials point out that use of encrypted messaging is now standard among terrorists and criminal gangs. Thanks to competition among big and small tech companies<\/a>, they can choose among half a dozen ultra-secure messaging systems, from Telegram to Facebook-owned WhatsApp.<\/p>\n Yet when Van Linthout asks those firms for information about suspects, he said the response from the companies is all too often \u201csorry, can\u2019t help.\u201d In the case of smaller firms, there is often no response at all.<\/p>\n Unless an investigator could prove imminent danger to human life \u2014 not easy in a murder case with a cooling corpse \u2014 tech firms are reluctant to provide clues that undermine their encryption sales pitch. \u201cYou\u2019re left with the corpse, the suspect and no information,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Facebook representatives, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential interactions with law enforcement, said the obstacle to accessing messages on encrypted services was first and foremost technical. It was not possible to access end-to-end encrypted messages on WhatsApp without breaking encryption for all users, they argued late last year, adding that investigators were aware of such constraints.<\/p>\n Facebook regularly assists EU law enforcement, without specifying any cases, one representative added. Big Tech also faces limits in U.S. law that require it to demonstrate immediate and urgent danger before sending bits of data to European legislators.<\/p>\n For Van Linthout, however, cooperation still falls short. What he wants is access to metadata \u2014 information about who is in contact with whom, not what\u2019s inside the exchange. Too often, it\u2019s denied.<\/p>\n Data retention is a common gripe among investigators | Andrew Caballero-Reynolds\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n The Commission\u2019s proposal is set to give Van Linthout new leverage.<\/p>\n Pressured in the wake of terrorist bombings in Paris and Brussels that involved the use of encrypted messaging, Brussels is about to create a \u201cproduction order\u201d that investigators could use to force tech firms to fork over data. The proposal is expected to be unveiled at the end of this month or mid-April, according to two people close to the file.<\/p>\n EU privacy rules have proved just as restrictive for Van Linthout as the resistance of Big Tech firms.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cIt is clear the Commission needs to act here and come up with pan-European rules,\u201d Justice Commissioner V\u011bra Jourov\u00e1 said at the end of last year, adding that the proposal called for giving law enforcement \u201cdirect access\u201d to the information they need.<\/p>\n A senior Commission official who asked not to be named said the proposal is \u201cprobably the boldest thing we can do on criminal law.\u201d<\/p>\n Even the tech companies may find the proposal useful, as it aims to clarify their obligations before the law. Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft have all held meetings with Jourov\u00e1<\/a> in the past few months, with Google dispatching its general counsel, Kent Walker, to Brussels to lobby her on the matter.<\/p>\n There\u2019s another obstacle standing in Van Linthout\u2019s way: Europe\u2019s schizophrenic attitude toward data.<\/p>\n On one hand, lawmakers want to give police a free hand to fight crime. On the other, citizens have pushed back against governments and big companies snooping through their personal data unrestricted, and soon the strictest privacy regulations in the world, the General Data Protection Regulation, will be enforced in Europe.<\/p>\n V\u011bra Jourov\u00e1, the European commissioner for justice, consumers and gender equality | Emmanuel Dunand\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n EU privacy rules have proved just as restrictive for Van Linthout as the resistance of Big Tech firms. He cites one example from 2015, when investigators were chasing a terrorist plotter in Brussels who was planning an attack on New Year\u2019s Eve and left a trail of evidence on several web pages.<\/p>\n The problem was that some of it was too old. \u201cWe had him. His internet protocol address led to Belgium, but the data was older than two years, so data retention [meant] the data was thrown away,\u201d he said, adding that the suspect could not be caught as a result.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are making big profits here, they are building their client base here, but they also have to be responsible\u201d \u2014 Senior Commission official<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Data retention is a common gripe among investigators, after two major rulings by the European Court of Justice that said countries cannot force firms to store their data for law enforcement purposes without setting strict limits and safeguards.<\/p>\n The Commission\u2019s proposal is unlikely to clear up confusion over data retention, as the rulings are part of a broader push to strengthen privacy laws following Edward Snowden\u2019s 2013 revelations about the extent of surveillance by the U.S. National Security Agency.<\/p>\n Which is why investigators like Van Linthout feel hostage to geopolitical considerations.<\/p>\n Europe and the U.S. now find themselves engaged in a race to draw the lines of what law applies on the web. Microsoft is fighting a U.S. warrant<\/a> in a key court case that has gone all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n The U.S. wants Microsoft to hand over data stored in Ireland. The Commission says Microsoft would risk violating the EU\u2019s data protection laws if it complies.<\/p>\n Both sides would like the power to ask for data to solve crimes and stop terrorist networks. But current processes to get data for law enforcement purposes, through Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties, are too slow, lawmakers agree. Google estimates show it takes an average of 10 months of waiting time for the data to be processed legally.<\/p>\n The Commission\u2019s proposal would suggest ways for prosecutors to ask for data stored outside of their jurisdiction, and even outside of Europe, too.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to get the balance right \u2026 The tricky thing is that, if we\u2019d do it only for the EU territory, we wouldn\u2019t catch much,\u201d the senior official said. \u201cWe\u2019d address IT providers who are offering services here \u2026 They are making big profits here, they are building their client base here, but they also have to be responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n Original Article<\/a><\/p>\n [contf] [contfnew] MECHELEN, Belgium \u2014 Investigators like Philippe Van Linthout..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":66941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech"],"yoast_head":"\nHelp from Jourov\u00e1<\/h3>\n
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Europe\u2019s data schizophrenia<\/h3>\n
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