EU Ombudsman launches probe into Europol officials’ alleged conflict of interest
The EU Ombudsman confirmed it has launched an investigation into the potential conflict of interest of two former Europol officials who joined the child protection organisation Thorn.
The action comes following a complaint to the Ombudsman from Pirate Party MEP Patrick Breyer in connection to the proposal on countering online child sexual abuse material (CSAM), lobbying from “supporters and opponents”, and connections between Thorn, the Commission, and other non-governmental organisations.
“At the end of December 2023, Europol was notified by the European Ombudsman regarding the launch of an inquiry into the Europol authorisation process of former staff concerning post-Europol activities with Thorn”, Claire Georges, Europol’s deputy spokesperson, told Euractiv.
“Europol is supporting the inquiry of the European Ombudsman, the subject matter of which was already addressed in the margins of the LIBE session on 25 October 2023”, Georges added, referring to a Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) hearing in the European Parliament in October.
European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly wrote in a letter dated 20 December that she had decided to open “an inquiry to investigate how Europol dealt with the moves of two former staff members to positions related to combatting online child sexual abuse”.
“As a first step, I have decided that it is necessary to inspect certain documents held by Europol related to these post-service activities. I expect to receive these documents by 15 January 2024,” O’Reilly added, writing that she would not pursue other parts of the complaint in the inquiry.
NGOs, Commission, and money: What is going on with child sexual abuse regulation?
A recent article by the Balkan Insight revealed close links, including possible financial interests, between the European Commission and child protection organisations in connection to a draft EU law to prevent online child sexual abuse material,
Conflict of interest
Europol has an international task force which is responsible for uncovering and investigating CSAM and trying to rescue the victims and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Europol has also lobbied for the Commission by supporting the CSAM proposal and its Deputy Executive Director of Operations, Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, was previously questioned about connections between the agency and child protection organisations forged by former colleagues.
Lecouffe mentioned several conditions that come with working at Europol. He also said that when two years have passed, they no longer follow up on former employees’ work and that no employee can stay longer than nine years at Europol.
Two Europol employees and other Commission employees have gone on to work at Thorn in what the complaint describes as a “revolving door” between the two entities.
Background connections
Breyer said Thorn has a commercial interest in mandatory scanning of CSAM. For example, the US Department of Homeland Security has purchased licenses for $4.3 million since 2018 while Vimeo, Flickr or OpenAI, also use them.
In October, Emily Slifer, director of policy at Thorn, confirmed to Euractiv that “Thorn does have a product that we sell to industry. It’s a very small portion of what we make” but stressed that “income doesn’t mean profit, though”.
“Most of our funding comes from donors, whether that be individuals, foundations, grants, etc.,” she added.
EU Commission’s microtargeting to promote law on child abuse under scrutiny
The European Commission’s use of microtargeting techniques to promote its controversial law to prevent the dissemination of child sexual abuse material is under investigation over concerns it might have violated the EU data protection and privacy rules.
Now, Slifer told Euractiv that “To fight child sexual abuse at scale, close collaboration with law enforcement agencies like Europol are indispensable”.
“Of course, we respect any barring clauses in transitions of employees from law enforcement agencies to Thorn. Anything else would go against our code of conduct and would also hamper Thorn’s relationships to these agencies who play a vital role in fighting child sexual abuse”, she said.
Breyer also noted in his complaint that Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson and her cabinet are “closely involved in the activities” of these groups.
Before the LIBE hearing in October, coordinators have requested that the Commission share all lobbying documents relating to the CSAM proposal.
However, the EU executive has declined to share some documents, such as two documents received from Thorn’s CEO, opposing the protection of the company’s commercial interests.
Read more with Euractiv
