EU pushes for tougher tools to fight organized crime
POLITICO - Wednesday, July 23, 2025EU governments are worried criminal networks are exploiting emerging technologies — like phone software updates — faster than lawmakers and police can keep up with.
“Even the stupidest of criminals today can avoid law enforcement just by using an iPhone,” Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard told reporters after a meeting with his European counterparts in Copenhagen on Wednesday.
Ministers floated potential improvements to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — the EU’s main privacy law — that could give authorities “more potent resources and tools” to investigate wrongdoing.
Referencing television show The Wire to illustrate how technology has far outpaced law enforcement’s capabilities, Hummelgaard warned that upcoming iPhone updates could enable encrypted AI-generated messages, making criminal investigations even harder.
“Sometimes I fear criminals are laughing their socks off because we are not sufficiently able to neither within our nation states, but also on a global or even an EU level, to provide the necessary provisions that can give law enforcement the right tools,” he said.
EU Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath said the Commission will now weigh the ministers’ suggestions.