Compliance Essentials Under the EU e-Evidence Act – Practical Steps for Service Providers

The EU e-Evidence Act’s stringent compliance requirements demand more than just quick data retrieval; they require effective cross-functional collaboration. As data production requests increase in volume and urgency, multiple internal teams—including Compliance, DPO, CISO, Privacy, Trust and Safety, and others—will need to coordinate seamlessly to manage these requests. This article discusses the importance of an integrated architecture that enables efficient teamwork, centralized data sharing, and secure release processes.

Why Cross-Functional Collaboration is Essential
Handling data production requests under the e-Evidence Act is not a single-department responsibility. To comply with production and preservation orders, companies need the expertise and involvement of various teams:

1. Compliance and Legal: These teams interpret regulatory requirements and ensure responses are legally sound.

2. Data Protection Officer (DPO): The DPO must safeguard data privacy and ensure minimal data exposure, maintaining compliance with GDPR alongside the e-Evidence Act.

3. Chief Information Security Officer (CISO): Security must be maintained throughout the data handling process to prevent unauthorized access.

4. Privacy and Trust and Safety Teams: These teams play a crucial role in maintaining customer trust by ensuring data requests are handled securely and responsibly.

Without structured collaboration among these teams, SPs risk inefficiencies, errors, and missed deadlines that could lead to penalties and reputational damage.

Building an Integrated, Collaborative Architecture
To manage the demands of the e-Evidence Act effectively, SPs need an integrated architecture that supports collaboration and transparency across teams. Key elements of such an architecture include:

1. Centralized Workflow Management
   A centralized workflow solution enables all relevant teams to access and manage data requests in one location. This system should:

• Provide a centralized view of all active requests, categorized by urgency and legal requirements.

• Enable status tracking so that each team knows when their input is required, reducing communication lags.

2. Audit Trails and Accountability
   Integrated workflows must include full audit trails to document every action taken, creating a record that can be reviewed internally or externally if needed. This feature is essential to ensure:

• Compliance with the Act’s requirements for transparency and accountability.

• Accurate tracking of all team contributions, from data production to privacy reviews, which can help mitigate risks in case of regulatory scrutiny.

3. Automated Data Minimization and Review Processes
   To comply with both the e-Evidence Act and GDPR, data minimization is crucial. Automated workflows can support this by:

• Allowing the DPO and Privacy teams to review and limit data to only what’s strictly necessary before release.

• Ensuring compliance with GDPR while meeting the production requirements of the e-Evidence Act, thus balancing competing regulatory demands.

4. Secure Data Sharing with Authorized Third Parties
   Many cases will require SPs to share data with law enforcement or other approved third parties securely. To manage this:

• The architecture should enable secure access control for authorized external parties, allowing them to view or download data without compromising security.

• Permission-based access should be applied, ensuring that only relevant individuals—both internal and external—have access to sensitive data.

This functionality reduces the risk of unauthorized data access, enhances security, and ensures regulatory compliance.

Kodex’s Role in Enabling Effective Compliance
Kodex’s solutions are designed to help SPs build these collaborative, secure, and efficient workflows. Our integrated platform offers:

• A centralized system for request management: All relevant teams can access and manage data requests collaboratively, with built-in audit trails for complete accountability.

• Automated data minimization: The platform enables DPOs and Privacy teams to streamline data minimization processes, aligning with GDPR and e-Evidence Act requirements.

• Secure sharing capabilities: Kodex provides controlled access for authorized third parties, allowing secure data sharing that aligns with the Act’s demands.

Case Study
Bumble implemented an integrated compliance architecture, enabling cross-functional collaboration and efficient response handling. This case study highlights how Kodex helped bumble achieve faster response times and improved compliance with both data privacy and production requirements.

Call to Action
To explore how Kodex can help your teams collaborate more effectively and streamline your compliance workflows, register for this event or connect with Kodex for a detailed self-assessment on operational readiness.