Europe Quietly Becoming a Spy Superpower

Momentous changes are underway in European intelligence, propelled by new technology and a political push for integration. And without finally having an open and inclusive public conversation about them, we risk losing the democratic legitimacy of these transformations.

The evolution of government surveillance is bold, multi-faceted, and confusing. Agencies across the continent are deploying an avalanche of new technologies, notably machine learning, to both advance new capabilities such as biometric surveillance and master long-standing challenges like information overload.

New institutions of intelligence cooperation and comprehensive data-sharing arrangements are implemented at multiple levels, across jurisdictions, and with greater-than-ever corporate involvement. At the same time, the EU is itself advancing an ambitious new surveillance agenda and is investing heavily in security research.

And while national and European courts still grapple with questions of legality, territoriality, and privacy brought about by the previous round of intelligence laws, parliamentarians across Europe are already debating new intelligence bills that aim to grant agencies even greater intrusive surveillance powers...

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