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Being next in the queue, I flipped open my passport. My stomach dropped. The same red pen mark. I could not think of an explanation. In any case, it was too late. We were taken into an interrogation room, still completely unaware that we were under arrest. Our agent, who had handled all our paperwork and was assisting with the border crossing that day, seemed locked in an argument with the officials. They spoke in Thai. The only explanation I could think of was that the Immigration Officer at the Laos border, issuing the original visa, must have stamped the wrong date and tried to correct it himself.

The European Commission recently presented a Roadmap for effective and lawful access to data for law enforcement which would pave the way for EU law enforcement authorities to gain access to digital data. The roadmap focusses on six key areas: data retention, lawful interception, digital forensics, decryption, standardisation and AI solutions for law enforcement.