In the wake of recent terror attacks, the EU has pushed forward a proposal that police will be able to hold increased powers when attempting to obtain information from internet companies. If passed, the law will allow police to have access to data on Facebook and Google, in order to be able to easily track illegal behaviour on chat apps like WhatsApp. There have been multiple suggestions as to the strength of the new laws, with one option being to allow all EU security forces to have direct access to any data they wish, even if it threatened information safety. However, there is also the suggestion that the law would simply remove the necessity for international police to request data from tech companies via local police forces. The EU justice commissioner said that she was “in favour of enabling the use of personal data”, and that the recent terror attacks in Western countries would make ministers “more understanding”.Â
