Lawyer Paul Keres: law enforcement does not need legal authority to seize phones

Lawyer Paul Keres argues that proposals to grant law enforcement legal authority to confiscate phones from individuals are unnecessary. He contends that existing laws are already sufficient, as officials can demand the transfer of material through a formal request. Keres considers the legislative change to be uncalled for.

Lawyer Paul Keres has criticized plans to grant law enforcement a legal basis for seizing phones from individuals. In his view, such legislative change is entirely unnecessary, as the required legal tools are already in place.

Keres explained that under current law, officials already have the ability to demand that individuals provide video recordings or other documents. "They can demand that you send the material, they already have a legal basis for that," Keres said. If, for example, a person films an incident, officials can identify the person who recorded it and issue them a corresponding request – this is, according to the lawyer, a perfectly lawful way of proceeding.

Keres was skeptical of the proposed legislative amendment. "Now they want to write something potentially absurd into law, but in reality there is no need to change the law at all," he said. In the lawyer's view, he does not understand what purpose such a change would serve, given that the existing legal framework already covers what is necessary.