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Félix Braz, Luxembourg’s Green justice minister, called the current system of law enforcement agencies accessing data across the EU “fragmented” during a conference at the University of Luxembourg, in Kirchberg, on 25 April 2017. Braz is pictured here speaking at the Chamber of Commerce in April 2015. Image: Steve Eastwood 

In the face of rising cybercrime activity, further interoperability between law enforcement agencies and telecom firms across the 28 member states is needed, Félix Braz (Green party) stated this week.

The comments came during the “Law enforcement challenges in the online context” conference, organised by the University of Luxembourg. The two-day conference brought together scholars and politicians to discuss data in terms of policing, policy, law and consumer rights.

In his introductory speech on Tuesday, Stefan Braum, a law professor and dean of the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance, highlighted the importance of data security and law enforcement within contemporary society.

“One of the challenges we face today is to rediscover and reclaim the balance between the exchange of data and efficient policing,” Baum noted in relation to the conflict between privacy rights in favour of governmental control and security.

Contextualising the debate further, the professor touched on the social, communal and existential questions propelled by the phenomenon of digitalisation, by asking: what does it mean to be a national and global citizen? How do information and data influence perceptions, politics and lifestyles?

A host of questions

“As a media and data hub at the heart of Europe, Luxembourg is uniquely qualified to address the questions surrounding everyday global transnational transactions,” stated Mark Cole, a law professor who moderated Tuesday morning’s session on “Mapping Online Enforcement Challenges”.

Ian Walden, a law professor at Queen Mary University of London, mapped the many challenges ahead, covering various issues from the access and retention of data to the type, use and availability of data.

Walden’s speech touched briefly on the plethora of cyberspace-concerns: the identity of users (IP address, IP holder, history, subscriber data), bulk retention, availability, location (domestic and foreign) and mediation of data.

These issues lead to larger controversy and discussion in regard to the responsibility of service providers of EU and international states. When and why should service providers issue sensitive information to law enforcement? How does the blurring of national borders within an information society further shape these responsibilities? For citizens, addition worries challenge governmental and police authority regarding privacy infringement: who watches the watcher?

Current system “inefficient”

According to Braz, widespread and undifferentiated retention of metadata no longer holds up to legal scrutiny, whether at national or EU level. “We can no longer depend on 28 diverging data retention regimes. The current fragmentation of the legal framework is largely inefficient,” he claimed.

Mutual assistance and recognition between law enforcement and service providers, cross-border access and common guidelines are crucial to success, in the minister’s view. Braz said that he remains optimistic about the prospect of future innovative frameworks.

Definitive answers are yet to be found within the sphere of policy and legislation, as official actors struggle to contend with the numerous points of contention found in cyberspace.

However, “a common reflection process has started”, stated Braz, with conferences around the world--such the Big Data Summit in Malta--working towards solutions.

The University of Luxembourg conference continues on Wednesday.