The European Data Protection Supervisory Authority (EDPS) has submitted an order that requires Europol to remove information about individuals with no proven links to criminal activity. This decision was the result of an investigation by the department, initiated in 2019.
According to EDPS, the storage of large amounts of non-criminal data on EU citizens poses risks to fundamental human rights. In response to this, the Police Service has made a number of changes in the collection and storage of personal information.
The regulator found that Europol kept such information longer than necessary, which is contrary to the regulations of the EU police agency. EDPS has decided to limit the retention period for human data to six months. Information that has not been categorized within six months is subject to removal in accordance with the new rules.
EDPS has given Europol 12 months to implement the data requirements it already has.
The chief inspector of the supervisory authority, Wojciech Wiewerowski, says that six months will be enough for Europol to perform preliminary analysis and extraction of data that will meet the operational needs of the EU member states.
In the fall of 2020, EDPS criticized Europol for storing a significant amount of data that was collected under an initial court order. At the same time, the supervisory authority saw in the actions of the police agency a threat to human rights.
Europol has data that is shared with it by national law enforcement agencies, the EU government and private companies. Information includes personal and biometric data.
The Guardian reports that from 4 petabytes of information, which contain information from reports on crimes, hacked phones by the police and other operational sources, are subject to removal. Human rights activists have reason to accuse the European police service of mass surveillance, similar to the NSA in the United States.
Home Affairs Commissioner Ilva Johansson said Europol needs the tools, resources and time to analyze the data it receives. The Commission believes that the actions of EDPS will interfere with the agency's responsibilities.
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