Introduction

Safeguarding the rights of journalists in the digital space, including protecting their communications and other sensitive data, has become an increasingly complex and relevant issue in the new information age. As the usage of the Internet, including online communication tools and electronic data sharing platforms, expand rapidly, a growing amount of data is transferred and stored digitally. In addition, many contributions to public debate are disseminated and received online.

While legislative, judicial and policy developments are struggling to keep up with the fast pace of technological developments, European countries and regional organisations, such as the European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe (CoE) have introduced measures addressing both old standing as well as emerging questions relating to privacy, security and freedom of expression. These include questions around the surveillance and retention of journalists’ communications and other forms of access to their devices.