"Attack on freedom"? Berlin Senate wants to strengthen the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

The Berlin governing coalition is planning new regulations for the work of the state's Office for the Protection of the Constitution. This is according to a draft bill from the Interior Ministry, which was discussed for the first time in the House of Representatives on Thursday. Among other things, the CDU and SPD want to facilitate online surveillance and restrict citizens' rights to information. The opposition has responded with sharp criticism of the reform plans.

If the coalition has its way, so-called online searches should be made easier. For this purpose, spyware is installed on mobile devices, such as smartphones. The software is known as a "state Trojan" and allows for the viewing of communications, such as chat messages. A new feature would be that the approval of the G10 Commission would no longer be required for the software to be introduced. This body, which is composed of parliamentarians, monitors the work of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution—for example, in the use of intelligence resources.

"We consider this parliamentary oversight indispensable," Green Party MP June Tomiak told the Netzpolitik portal about the current regulation. It is "completely incomprehensible why there should be a deviation from previous good practice." Left Party politician Niklas Schrader criticizes the interventions in principle. Online searches allow "barely restrictive access to computers and cell phones" and undermine "the security of information technology devices."

The coalition, of course, sees things differently – and is demonstratively calm. "It's fine that the opposition criticizes this; they're just doing opposition things," Jan Lehmann, the SPD parliamentary group spokesman for the Office for the Protection of the Constitution , told the Berliner Zeitung. In fact, with the reform, the Senate is simply reacting to the Federal Constitutional Court's requirements. Furthermore, it is wrong for the CDU-SPD coalition to abandon parliamentary control, says the Social Democrat.

"In the future, in the case of online searches, a judge will decide in expedited proceedings whether the secret service may install software on a smartphone to monitor the typing of text messages live," Lehmann continued. The state must be able to act more quickly and effectively so that it can keep up with technology. Messenger apps on smartphones are usually encrypted, and by the time the G10 Commission has decided on a case, it is often too late. However, the committee "will continue to meet regularly and is also available for special sessions in urgent cases," said the SPD MP.

SPD politician: “Prevent abuse through a huge number of inquiries”

In addition to this change, the draft law also proposes facilitating surveillance of residential premises. Furthermore, there will be new rules for information requests to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Citizens can inquire with the intelligence agency whether information has been collected about them – for example, in the areas of right-wing extremism, Islamism, or the "delegitimization of the state." The coalition's reform stipulates that this should no longer be possible without further ado in the future. Requests must be justified with "specific facts" and a "legitimate interest" must be demonstrated.

SPD MP Lehmann considers this to be harmless. He says that stating the reason for the request doesn't necessarily raise suspicion. "For example, you can request information even if there's a crackling call on the phone line." With this change, Lehmann says, the coalition wants to prevent "abuse caused by a huge number of requests."

After the first reading in the House of Representatives, the draft Interior Administration Act will now be referred to the relevant parliamentary committee. It will likely be several months before the reform is implemented.

Most recently, the classification of the entire AfD as "confirmed right-wing extremist" drew nationwide attention to the work of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. It is currently unknown whether the Berlin Office for the Protection of the Constitution is permitted to monitor the AfD state chapter for intelligence purposes. Until now, the state Office for the Protection of the Constitution has not been permitted to report which organizations it considers "suspected" —which is the precursor to "confirmed extremist activity." The Senate's amendment to the law stipulates that this should also be possible in Berlin in the future.

Critics have complained for many years that the German domestic intelligence agency has too many powers – whether in the surveillance of opposition parties, organizations, or even individuals. According to Berlin BSW representative Alexander King, this also applies to the state's Office for the Protection of the Constitution. "Surveillance of residential premises, online searches, access to accounts and telecommunications data – all of this should be made easier for the Berlin Office for the Protection of the Constitution, while at the same time making it more difficult for citizens to obtain information," King told this newspaper. "More powers, less control – this Berlin legislative reform is going in the wrong direction. It should be the other way around."

The Berlin Liberals, who can currently only comment on the CDU-SPD reform plans from the extra-parliamentary opposition, describe the changes as "completely unbalanced, activist, and indeed an attack on freedom." It was to be expected "that it would be the CDU that would side with an overreaching state rather than with upstanding citizens," says FDP chairman Christoph Meyer.