Capstone Archiving in Europe: Key Legal Questions
Laura Drechsler Bieke Nouws
Emails have become an essential component of the work toolbox of public administrations. Archives, tasked with preserving the files of public authorities, are therefore confronted with the need to preserve also the emails linked to the public tasks of these authorities. The technical challenges surrounding email archiving have been long and extensively deliberated. Since 2013, Capstone archiving has emerged as a means to efficiently retain the vast amounts of emails sent and received by 'key figures' of public institutions and address deficiencies in manual archiving practices. While this approach holds significant promise and is thus being adopted or seriously considered by several archives, among which the Belgian State Archives, the legal intricacies associated with this approach remain inadequately elucidated. Specifically, a deeper examination of the legal ramifications stemming from the adoption of this US-origin methodology within the European context seems necessary.

In our poster, we will assess if and how Capstone can be a viable solution for European archives, compliant with legislation such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We look at several possible cases, such as individual versus team mailboxes, and different aspects of digital preservation, including consultation of the emails in the short and long run. As with most data protection questions, the answers are not limited to yes or no but depend on the details of each situation.
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