Understanding the EU Electronic Evidence Package | Interview with Cristos Velasco | EP 7

The EU Electronic Evidence Package, published in August 2023 and enforceable from August 2026, is a regulatory framework consisting of a regulation and directive that enables law enforcement authorities to access electronic evidence (subscriber information, traffic data, and content data) from internet service providers, even when those providers are not located within the European Union. This package addresses the challenge that over 60% of electronic evidence needed by criminal justice authorities is stored with global service providers like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and crypto exchanges. The regulation introduces shorter timeframes for evidence preservation requests (within 10 days compared to the previous 120-day European Investigation Order), requires non-EU service providers to appoint legal representatives within the EU, and establishes a new confidential database for evidence exchange between member states. This legislation represents a significant advancement over older mechanisms like Mutual Legal Assistance Requests, which typically took at least 10 months to process.