This first edition of case studies examines the application of extraterritorial production orders pursuant to Article 18 of the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, with a focus on Belgian case law involving Yahoo! and Skype. These cases illustrate how national judicial authorities have addressed the obligation of foreign-based service providers to produce data and provide technical assistance in criminal investigations where offences were committed on national territory.

The Yahoo! and Skype cases demonstrate the evolving interpretation of territorial jurisdiction and the qualification of electronic communications service providers in a cross-border digital context. Belgian courts assessed whether service providers offering services to users in Belgium could be directly subject to national production orders without recourse to mutual legal assistance mechanisms. The jurisprudence clarifies that active economic presence, service targeting, and control over data may establish sufficient territorial links, even in the absence of physical establishment.