Working Paper Seminar: The Digital Services Act and the e-Evidence Regulation: what role for private actors? (ILPC Seminar Series)

The development and spread of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) created a set of conditions in which the participation of private actors, i.e service providers, in criminal investigations has become a necessity. This context has also created space and the need for such actors to exercise functions and make decisions traditionally falling within the remit of states’ power, hence leading to a paradigm shift where private actors may play a role in the protection of fundamental rights. So far, this paradigm and its impact on fundamental rights has not been addressed comprehensively and consistently across several fields of EU law. 

This seminar will explore the role of private actors when they cooperate with law enforcement authorities as envisaged by recent EU legislation, i.e. Regulation (EU) 2023/154 – the so-called e-Evidence Regulation – and Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 – commonly known as the Digital Services Act. It will also assess the division of responsibilities between public authorities and private actors in the protection of fundamental rights. In doing so it will aim to answer the following question: Are service providers fundamental rights guardians or the King’s hand? 

It will also discuss the UK’s perspective on the matter, in relation to the Online Safety Bill and the US-UK Cloud Act Agreement.

Key speaker: Marine Corhay (PhD candidate, University of Liège)

Discussant: Dr Martin Husovec  Associate Professor of Law (LSE)

Chair: Dr Nóra Ní Loideáin, Senior Lecturer in Law and Director of the Information Law & Policy Centre