The German judiciary association has welcomed the planned retention requirements for IP addresses and called for further steps to combat child abuse. Sven Rebehn, the main director of the association, told the Funke Media Group’s newspapers that for internet crimes like child pornography, the IP address is often the only, and always the quickest, investigative lead to track suspects and rescue victims from potentially ongoing distress. He added that investigations often hit a dead end without a reliable method for linking IP addresses to the account holders.
According to Rebehn, an overhaul is also necessary on the European level for the voluntary chat monitoring against child abuse. He urged the federal government and coalition factions to lobby in Brussels so that messaging services can continue to legally identify and report instances of abuse in chats. This provision expired at the beginning of April.
The association’s director also warned that the public prosecutor’s offices are alarmed and fear significant gaps in criminal prosecution if US platforms cease forwarding information on child abuse to EU prosecutors through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Separately, the federal cabinet plans to approve a temporary three-month storage requirement for IP addresses and their associated port numbers this Wednesday. However, data privacy advocates have expressed critical views regarding the bill proposed by Federal Minister of Justice Stefanie Hubig (SPD).