Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 17 Sources of information

1. Europol shall only process information that has been provided to it:

(a) by Member States in accordance with their national law and Article 7;

(b) by Union bodies, third countries and international organisations in accordance with Chapter V;

(c) by private parties and private persons in accordance with Chapter V.

2. Europol may directly retrieve and process information, including personal data, from publicly available sources, including the internet and public data.

3. In so far as Europol is entitled under Union, international or national legal instruments to gain computerised access to data from Union, international or national information systems, it may retrieve and process information, including personal data, by such means if that is necessary for the performance of its tasks. The applicable provisions of such Union, international or national legal instruments shall govern access to, and the use of, that information by Europol, in so far as they provide for stricter rules on access and use than those laid down by this Regulation. Access to such information systems shall be granted only to duly authorised staff of Europol and only in so far as this is necessary and proportionate for the performance of their tasks.