High-Level Group (HLG) on access to data for effective law enforcement

The High-Level Group (HLG) on access to data for effective law enforcement, launched by the Commission in June 2023, and co-chaired by the Commission and the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU explores any challenges that law enforcement practitioners in the Union face in their daily work in connection to access to data and potential solutions to overcome them, with the aim of ensuring the availability of effective law enforcement tools to fight crime and enhance public security in the digital age, in full respect of fundamental rights.

The objectives of the HLG are to:

• Establish a collaborative and inclusive platform for stakeholders from all relevant sectors, including law enforcement, data protection experts, private sector operators, NGOs, and academia, to work towards commonly accepted solutions.
• Formulate a strategic forward-looking vision on how to address current and anticipated challenges against the background of technological developments, enabling a comprehensive EU approach to ensure access to data for effective law enforcement.
• Propose recommendations for the further development of Union policies to enhance and improve access to data for the purpose of effective law enforcement.

The High-Level Group recommendations for the further development of Union policies and legislation to enhance and improve access to data for effective law enforcement were prepared by the experts of the working groups and endorsed at the 4^th Plenary meeting of the Group on 21 May. The 42 recommendations of the HLG reflect the views of the experts only and should not be considered as representative of the European Commission’s official position.

Public Consultation Meeting on 20 February 2024

• Invitation
• Agenda
• Report
• Written submission: EDRi
• Written submission: CCBE
• Written submission: EUROISPA

Plenary

The HLG will in principle meet four times at plenary level.

1^st meeting on 19 June 2023:

• Agenda
• Background document
• Room document on working groups

2^nd meeting on 21 November 2023:

• Agenda
• Background document

3^rd meeting on 1 March 2024:

• Agenda
• Background document

Working Groups

The HLG is supported by technical sub-groups (‘working groups’) to enable deeper discussions on specific topics in a more restricted format.

• Working Group 1 (access to data at rest in a user’s device)
  • 1^st meeting on 19 July 2023: agenda and background document
  • 2^nd meeting on 5 December 2023: agenda and background document
  • 3^rd meeting on 12 March 2024: agenda
• Working Group 2 (access to data at rest in a provider’s system)
  • 1^st meeting on 6 September 2023: agenda and background document
  • 2^nd meeting on 16 January 2024: agenda and background document
  • 3^rd meeting on 19 March 2024: agenda and request for input
• Working Group 3 (access to data in transit)
  • 1^st meeting on 4 October 2023: agenda and background document
  • 2^nd meeting on 13 February 2024: agenda and background document
  • 3^rd meeting on 10 April 2024: agenda and request for input

• Council’s scoping paper for the High-Level Group (HLG) on access to data for effective law enforcement
• Commission Decision setting up a high-level group on access to data for effective law enforcement
• Rules of procedure of the HLG

For questions about the HLG and its activities, you can reach us at the following email address: EC-HLG-GOING-DARKec [dot] europa [dot] eu (EC-HLG-GOING-DARK[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu).