Germany Moves to Expand Powers of Intelligence Services

Rastinews — Germany's federal government has approved a bill granting intelligence agencies greater powers to deter evolving threats of the era — armed drones, cyberattacks on energy facilities and espionage operations targeting defense industry firms.

Here are the details of the plan, which aims to let the state actively counter threats, particularly those originating abroad:

What is the government targeting?

"We are turning our intelligence services into real secret services," German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told the newspaper Bild. "We need to act quickly so that we can compete with, and match, the services we cooperate with around the world," he said. "We need operational capabilities and active powers to fight modern state terrorism and extremist groups more effectively."

Marc Henrichmann, who chairs the Bundestag committee overseeing the intelligence services, said that after a "groundbreaking shift" in the military sphere, a similar transformation must now take place in the intelligence services.

Speaking to AFP, Henrichmann said Germany is "in the middle of a hybrid conflict with Russia and other actors," and that the government must therefore bring the intelligence services in line with the demands of the era so threats can be identified and neutralized in advance.

What new powers will the services gain?

Until now, Germany's intelligence services have mainly focused on gathering information. Under the bill, they would gain "operational" powers to neutralize threats, as other countries' secret services already do. Particular emphasis is placed on the authority to disable the IT systems from which cyberattacks originate.

The Federal Intelligence Service (BND), Germany's foreign intelligence agency, would also be permitted to carry out sabotage operations abroad in the event of conflict or defense scenarios, or in special threat situations.

More broadly, the BND and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Verfassungsschutz), Germany's domestic intelligence agency, would be able to carry out cyberattacks to manipulate or delete data — destroying, for instance, weapons manufacturing manuals and instructions.

Will the BND also be allowed to use violence against individuals abroad?

Essentially, no. Even in a specific threat situation, Paragraph 51 of the BND Act bars "expanded intelligence measures" from targeting "the life and physical integrity of individuals." On this point, the BND remains far from the powers held by the U.S. CIA, Israel's Mossad or France's DGSE.

What is new in the reform, however, is that BND staff will no longer need explicit authorization to carry weapons abroad, just as members of the German armed forces and federal police already do not. The War Weapons Control Act is being amended for this purpose. But the change is chiefly about the personal safety of personnel in the field.

What is planned regarding data collection?

The new law expands the data collection and analysis powers of both the BND and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. That includes using artificial intelligence to analyze large data sets and cross-referencing biometric data with information found online. Data retention periods are being extended in some cases.

The bill, which runs to more than 730 pages, also reworks in detail the rules governing contentious measures such as online searches, covert surveillance of homes and the compilation of movement profiles.

What changes in the oversight of the intelligence services?

Oversight of the intelligence services is being consolidated under a court-like body: the Independent Control Council.

The council was established in 2022 following a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court on oversight of the BND's technical intelligence gathering. Under the reform, it will gain more extensive oversight powers over both the BND and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

The Bundestag's Parliamentary Control Panel, which oversees the intelligence services, will retain its existing oversight powers unchanged.

A figure monitors security camera footage across multiple screens in a darkened room.

Why is the data protection commissioner critical?

Federal Data Protection Commissioner Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider has criticized the reform for ending her office's data protection oversight of the BND. Under the change, individuals will have only very limited means of finding out how the intelligence services process data about them.

Specht-Riemenschneider has also objected to the BND and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution gaining access to public and private video surveillance systems in public spaces, and has said that storing personal data indefinitely is unconstitutional.

Are there other criticisms?

The opposition Greens and the Left Party say the new law violates the principle of separation between intelligence services and police powers.

That principle is regarded as a lesson drawn from the Nazi era, when the Secret State Police (Gestapo) used sweeping powers to ruthlessly persecute political opponents, Jews and other groups.

The Society for Civil Rights (GFF) has warned against what it calls a major expansion of the intelligence services' power.

GFF representative Kai Dittmann told the newspaper Rheinische Post that the government is enabling the BND and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution to intrude deeply into fundamental rights by granting them "expanded use of spyware, AI-based analysis with almost no safeguards, access to private video cameras and even hackback powers."

According to Dittmann, the bill, which he called "largely unconstitutional," needs to be fundamentally revised.
/DW/