The European commission is seeking to force technology companies wherever they are based in the EU to hand over emails, text messages and app communications of terror suspects within hours of a court order. Under the plans, judges in one member state will be able to seize electronic evidence held on a service provider in another European country through a transnational European production order.

The powers would further cover the seizure of data held outside the EU by a tech company “offering services in the union and established or represented” in an EU member state. The information will have to be handed over by the service provider within 10 days of receiving the warrant, or as little as six hours in emergency cases.

Currently, depending on the legal vehicle, the time limits before which the tech companies need to respond to national courts can vary between 120 days to 10 months. Frans Timmermans, the European commission’s vice-president, said: “Electronic evidence is increasingly important in criminal proceedings. We cannot allow criminals and terrorists to exploit modern and electronic communication technologies to hide their criminal actions and evade justice.(theguardian)…[+]