The German Parliament has given its approval this Friday, following an intense and contentious debate, for the expansion of the operational powers of the country’s intelligence agencies. Under the new regulations, these services will be able to carry out covert searches and disable servers located abroad when they are used by computer pirates.
Due to the enormous sensitivity of this expansion of powers, the law provides for the creation of a specific body made up of retired judges, tasked with supervising each specific action in advance before it is carried out.
The reform has passed in the chamber with 309 votes in favor from the Social and Christian Democratic coalition, against 109 opposing votes and 71 abstentions. The vote took place amid harsh protests from the far-right group Alternative for Germany (AfD), which firmly rejects the project and has described it as a "attack on the rule of law with truly totalitarian characteristics," in the words of its deputy Christian Wirth.
The Left formation has also voted against. Its deputy Clara Buenger has denounced it as a decision that consolidates a system of "comprehensive mass surveillance through artificial intelligence" and gives rise to a "new German secret police."
On the other side, the Minister of the Interior and main backer of the initiative, Alexander Dobrindt, praised the law, which he has defined as "the reform of the century" and the beginning of a "new era" for the Intelligence services, which will begin to operate "on equal terms with our European partners."
With this modification, the domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), will no longer be limited to mere data collection and the monitoring of suspected individuals.
In specified circumstances, secret entry into homes is also authorized and action can be taken against explosives or weapons. However, arrests and open searches remain the exclusive responsibility of the Police.
The Federal Intelligence Service of Germany (BND), responsible for foreign espionage, will likewise obtain new capabilities for operational intervention and will be authorized to render servers belonging to groups of 'hackers' sponsored by foreign states unusable.