According to a report by “Der Spiegel”, the German federal government plans to significantly boost the authorities’ powers within the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Verfassungsschutz). The Interior Ministry, currently led by Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), is reportedly preparing legislation that would allow the federal office to conduct surreptitious digital inspections of target individuals’ computers and mobile phones through online snooping. Furthermore, the expanded mandate would permit the use of “Artificial Intelligence” to identify critical clues within vast amounts of data, alongside the deployment of facial recognition software. The proposed law is expected to be presented soon, and the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) would also gain increased competencies.
Marc Henrichmann (CDU), who chairs the Parliamentary Control Committee in the Bundestag, told “Der Spiegel” that the current powers of German intelligence services are outdated, having remained rooted in “the analog era” and are therefore insufficient for today’s dynamic threat landscape.
Commentators suggest the necessity for such changes. Sebastian Fiedler, the SPD parliamentary spokesperson in the Bundestag, warned that Russia has already initiated a war against Europe and that underestimating this threat jeopardizes national security.
In related developments, Sinan Selen, Head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, recently announced plans to transform his agency into a robust “defensive service”. He stated that the office would concentrate its efforts on spammers, terrorists, and constitutionally hostile groups, aiming to preempt their plans as early as possible. Selen described this enhanced focus using the terms “detection and disruption”.