It wasn't all white light before Prism: Law enforcement practices in gathering data abroad, and proposals for further transnational access at the Council of Europe

This is a brief comment on a meeting held at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, which discussed ways of improving transnational access to data by law enforcement through the Cybercrime Convention. In particular, the possible introduction of a new protocol, and a guidance note on art. 32(b), were considered. It is argued that there are serious concerns with both proposals. Moreover, the meeting revealed a surprising lack of knowledge as to current levels of cooperation between law enforcement and foreign service providers.