“ According to the police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 1of the United Kingdom, the constable "may require any information which is contained in a computer and is accessible from the premises to be produced in a form in which it can be taken away and in which it is visible and legible". In Canada, the Mutual Legal Assistance Act provides for an evidence gathering order addressed to a person "to make a copy of a record or to make a record from data and to bring the copy or record with him". ”

“ The question whether the traditional powers of wire-tapping can be applied to tapping other telecommunication services and computer systems is answered differently in various countries. No computer-specific issues arise in legal systems in which the statutory law permits, for example, "surveillance of the telecommunication traffic including the recording of its content". ”

“ Duties of active cooperation The practical problems 157. The aforementioned powers of entry, search and seizure, and even a sui generis power of gathering data, do not, in many cases, guarantee a successful investigation, since the traditional authorities often lack the knowledge of computer hardware, operating systems and standard software necessary to access modern data-processing systems. The very complexity of modern information technology creates many problems regarding access to computer systems, which can be solved, but only partially, by better police training. ”