These rules will:
- create a European Production Order: this will allow a judicial authority in one Member State to obtain electronic evidence (such as emails, text or messages in apps, as well as information to identify a perpetrator as a first step) directly from a service provider or its legal representative in another Member State, which will be obliged to respond within 10 days, and within 6 hours in cases of emergency (compared to up to 120 days for the existing European Investigation Order or an average of 10 months for a Mutual Legal Assistance procedure);
- create a European Preservation Order: this will allow a judicial authority in one Member State to request that a service provider or its legal representative in another Member State preserves specific data in view of a subsequent request to produce this data via mutual legal assistance, a European Investigation Order or a European Production Order.
The new rules are the outcome of a two-year process resulting from strong calls for action by Member States and industry.
More information are accessible here: https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/justice-and-fundamental-rights/criminal-justice/e-evidence_en