Germany’s foreign and domestic intelligence services had long been seeking greater powers—and they have now received them following the reform approved by the Bundestag. What does this mean in concrete terms?
A licence to commit sabotage?
The foreign intelligence service BND will now be able to actively combat cyberattacks carried out by foreign powers by launching digital attacks and technically paralysing systems. As a last resort, it will also be permitted to destroy enemy weapons if they pose a threat to Germany. The Süddeutsche Zeitung describes this and several other expanded powers as a “licence to commit sabotage”.
The powers of the domestic intelligence service—the Office for the Protection of the Constitution—are also being expanded. In the future, its officers will be able, in the event of a threat, to break into the homes of suspected individuals without a search warrant, or to manipulate their computers and smartphones.
AfD and The Left reject the reform, Greens abstain
Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt describes the changes as the “reform of the century”. He justifies them by pointing to the heightened threat posed by Russia and other countries, as well as political and religious extremism. Germany is the target of hybrid threats, he says. “They are aimed at destabilising our population, our democracy and our country as a whole.”
The Greens abstained in the vote, while the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and The Left voted against. Both political forces accuse the government of conservatives and social democrats of going far beyond its stated objective. In their view, the reform violates the so-called principle of separation between the intelligence services and the police.
Interior minister: “They want to tie our hands”
Under this principle, the two intelligence services were previously primarily responsible for gathering information to prevent threats, while the Federal Criminal Police Office and the police authorities were responsible for criminal prosecution. This separation of functions is rooted in history and reflects the lessons learned from the period of National Socialism.
At that time, the Secret State Police (Gestapo) was the main instrument for the suppression and killing of people on political, religious and racist grounds. That is why the victorious powers of the Second World War decided to separate the police and intelligence services organisationally and assign them different tasks.
Opinions differ on whether this separation is now effectively being abolished. Dobrindt accuses the AfD and The Left of wanting to weaken or even abolish the intelligence services. “They want to tie our hands. The lesson of history is not to capitulate to the enemies of democracy. We must defend ourselves against these people.”
“The police will not break into somewhere and smash something”
Constitutional law expert Matthias Bäcker of the University of Mainz issued an explicit warning against granting operational powers to the intelligence services.
In particular, he referred to the provision allowing domestic intelligence officers, when necessary, to break into homes—thus granting them powers that the police would never receive. “The police will not break into somewhere and smash something,” Bäcker says.
Reporters Without Borders considering filing a complaint
Human rights organisation Reporters Without Borders, which advocates media freedom, is also concerned. Christian Mihr, executive director of the organisation’s German branch, is particularly worried about protecting people bound by professional secrecy, including journalists.
The media rely on confidential information in order to expose abuses—only in this way can they perform their watchdog function, guaranteed by the German Constitution.
According to Mihr, this watchdog function could be jeopardised if the intelligence services are allowed to carry out automated data analysis. The use of artificial intelligence is also permitted for this purpose.
German intelligence on a par with the CIA and Mossad?
The work of the intelligence services will be overseen by a special parliamentary body, whose chairman Mark Heinrichmann is pleased with the legal changes and the new powers. In his view, this puts German intelligence on a par with the American CIA or Israel’s Mossad intelligence service.
Heinrichmann is convinced that from now on Germany will be able to provide greater support to friendly countries in the fight against terrorism and cybercrime. In addition, as German broadcaster ARD notes, the changes are intended to reduce dependence on information provided by the intelligence services of friendly countries.