Ahead of the upcoming trilogue talks on the EU’s eEvidence proposal between the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission on Thursday 20 May, the EBU renews its call on European policymakers to efficiently protect media freedom and fundamental rights in a joint statement signed by European media and journalists, civil society groups, professional organizations and technology companies. 

The Commission’s original proposal would enable national law enforcement authorities to ask online intermediary providers to hand out electronic evidence of relevance for criminal investigations across borders. This could potentially include confidential editorial and journalistic material. The EBU therefore advocates for explicit protection and efficient safeguards in the proposed regulation to protect journalistic work and media freedom. Safeguarding Europe’s free and independent media is vital to sustain our democracies. 

Our message is clear: media freedom and fundamental rights cannot take a backseat to efficiency in cross-border investigations. We do not put the objective of the e-Evidence proposal into question: effective gathering of cross-border electronic evidence is crucial for criminal investigations. We believe that details in the e-evidence proposal can be set out in a way that delivers its objective without endangering media freedom and fundamental rights. Read further in our in our joint statement about how the e-Evidence proposal needs to be shaped.