Technology companies could be ordered to release vital electronic data, such as emails and text messages, to law enforcement agencies in as little as six hours under proposed European Union rules aimed at speeding up access to electronic evidence on crimes such as terrorist plots. Frans Timmermans, the European commission’s vice-president, said: “Electronic evidence is increasingly important in criminal proceedings. “We cannot allow criminals and terrorists to exploit modern and electronic communication technologies to hide their criminal actions and evade justice.”

On the frontline of the ongoing investigation into claims that Cambridge Analytica may have illegally harvested Facebook data for political ends, former CA boss Alexander Nix has refused to appear for a second grilling by British lawmakers, the MPs’ scrutiny panel investigating him said yesterday.
The European Commission announces plans to force tech companies worldwide that provide services within the European Union to supply data on their users in counterterror investigations.