European Police Chiefs are calling for industry and governments to take urgent action to ensure public safety across social media platforms.

Privacy measures currently being rolled out, such as end-to-end encryption, will stop tech companies from seeing any offending that occurs on their platforms. It will also stop law enforcement’s ability to obtain and use this evidence in investigations to prevent and prosecute the most serious crimes such as child sexual abuse, human trafficking, drug smuggling, homicides, economic crime and terrorism offences.

The declaration, published today and supported by Europol and the European Police Chiefs, comes as end-to-end encryption has started to be rolled out across Meta’s messenger platform.

Europol’s Executive Director Catherine De Bolle, said: Our homes are becoming more dangerous than our streets as crime is moving online. To keep our society and people safe, we need this digital environment to be secured. Tech companies have a social responsibility to develop a safer environment where law enforcement and justice can do their work. If police lose the ability to collect evidence, our society will not be able to protect people from becoming victims of crime.

This Joint Declaration was agreed upon at an informal meeting of the European Chiefs of Police in London hosted by the National Crime Agency on 18 April.

Police Chiefs of all EU Member States and Schengen Associated Countries were invited, alongside Europol’s Executive Director.

Earlier that week, Catherine De Bolle met in with Graeme Biggar, Director of the UK National Crime Agency, as part of regular, strategic exchanges on cooperation between Europol and the United Kingdom following the country’s departure from the European Union.