European Antitrust Forensic IT Tools
This project builds upon two previous ISEC co-funded projects, carried out within the context of the ISEC funding programme, under a Framework Partnership Agreement on “Forensic use of digital information as evidence in Antitrust investigations”. One of the most important tasks related to inspections is the collection of digital and forensic evidence (Forensic IT; FIT) and the administration related thereto.
The European Commission and the National Competition Authorities (NCAs) cooperate with each other through the European Competition Network (ECN), an effective mechanism to counter companies which engage in cross-border practices restricting competition (see the Commission Notice on cooperation within the Network of Competition Authorities, OJ C 101, 27.04.2004). Within this institutional framework, the ECN Forensic IT working group has been established (late 2010) to serve as a forum for the exchange of information and best practices on technical and legal issues surrounding the use of Forensic IT tool, where there is a high degree of variation between different Member States. Differences between Member States laws and practices are especially evident when NCAs assist each other in collecting digital/forensic evidence pursuant to Article 22 of Regulation 1/2003 and, even more so, where inspections are carried out in parallel by several NCAs; e.g., different legal possibilities to collect digital evidence, legal professional privilege and other exempted materials, different time limits for collecting evidence, use of search terms, use of equipment and tools. In particular, NCAs may use different FIT tools, which means that the possibility to index, search, sort and extract material may differ between Member States. The two previous ISEC projects aimed to build Forensic IT investigation capacity within NCAs, and a leveled playing field has been achieved among NCAs in this field.
The present project directly addresses the issue of convergence among investigative protocols and tools adopted by NCAs. Its aim is threefold and it is structured in as many phases: