- The EU Commission presented a roadmap for how it intends to ensure that law enforcement has effective and legal access to citizens’ data
- Politicians seek to establish a precedent for decrypting private data
- The timetable is part of the Protecteu strategy that was first revealed in April 2025
The EU law enforcement agencies could be able to decrypt your private data by 2030.
This is one of the ambitious goals presented by the EU Commission in its roadmap on June 24, 2025. A plan for how the block intends to ensure that police officers’ legal and effective ‘access to citizens’ data.
The timetable is the first step forward in the Protecteu strategy, which was first revealed in April 2025 – but privacy experts have already begun to raise the alarm.
How the EU plans to obtain legal access to data
Protecteu represents the EU Commission’s internal strategy to strengthen the security of the European block in the coming years.
It comes from the work of the high -level group (HLG), which was continued under the so -called Wound Dark Initiative. The group was tasked with the EU Council in June 2023 to develop a strategic plan “on access to data for effective law enforcement.”
Specifically, the group’s final report, published in March 2025, mentioned to end-to-end encryption as “the biggest technical challenge” for the investigative work for law enforcement authorities explicitly targeting the use of the best VPN services, encrypted messaging apps and similar tools.
The timetable marks an important part of the strategy and provides more details of how legislators plan to tackle what they refer to as “the growing challenges of gaining critical digital evidence” during criminal investigations.
The plan focuses on six key areas:
- Data storage. The EU Commission is expected to conduct an impact assessment with the aim of expanding the EU’s data storage obligations and strengthening cooperation between service providers and authorities.
- Legal interception. Legislators are trying to explore measures aimed at improving cross -border cooperation for legal interception of data by 2027.
- Digital forensic medicine. The goal here is to develop technical solutions that allow the authorities to analyze and maintain digital abilities stored on electronic devices.
- Decryption. Next year, the EU Commission is set to present a technology trektop to identify and evaluate decryption of solutions. These technologies are expected to equip Europol officers from 2030.
- Standardization. The Commission is said to be obliged to work with Europol, industrial stakeholders, experts and law enforcement practitioners to standardize the new approach to internal security.
- AI solutions for law enforcement. Legislators are also trying to promote the development and implementation of AI tools in 2028. These solutions will enable Authorities to legal and effectively process large quantities of seized data.
What the experts say
Experts have long warned against suggested plans to break encryption, which means that the technology responsible for encrypting data into an ulcerous form to prevent unauthorized access.
According to the Internet Society’s senior director Robin Wilton, another step towards decrypting private data relates.
“Efforts to develop decryptation techniques almost inevitably introduce new vulnerabilities that could be exploited by anyone with motivation and know-how; they can also encourage ‘hamstring’ of vulnerabilities, which is contrary to good cybersecurity practice,” Wilton told Techradar.
These comments repeated previous warnings from technologists, cryptographers and spokesmen for privacy, who were “deeply concerned” by the EU plan to weaken encryption.
The EU initiative that is dark is now launched by the EU Commission. They call it Protecteu.This is a change of chat control. New name. Same old propaganda. The EU Commission’s goal is to “access encrypted data in a legal way, protect cyber security and …April 4, 2025
A wave in cyberattacks around the world has pushed government agencies, including the FBI and CISA in the United States, to encourage citizens to switch to end-to-end encrypted services to fight these threats.
The Europe Commission itself even recognized earlier encryption as a necessary measure to protect cyberspace integrity.
This is probably the reason why a similar proposal to create a back door in encryption, the so -called chat control bill, has not been in the attraction of the necessary majority since 2022.
Now, legislators promise to be obliged to find the right balance between “allowing for effective and future-proofing solutions to facilitate law enforcement’s legal access to digital information while respecting the right to privacy and maintaining high levels of cybersecurity,” said EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner.
For Wilton, decision makers must never forget a simple fact: “Strong encryption is not the enemy of security – that is the starting point for it.”
