- eco warns of state trojans, chat monitoring and loss of trust in encrypted communication
On the occasion of the first reading of the draft law to modernise the German Federal Police Act on Thursday, eco – Association of the Internet Industry warns of the risks to IT security and digital communication. The draft law significantly expands the Federal Police’s surveillance powers, in particular through the use of source telecommunications surveillance and state trojans.
“Security policy must not mean that the state itself becomes a risk to digital security,” says eco – Board Klaus Landefeld. “The use of state trojans based on security vulnerabilities weakens digital security not only for citizens and businesses, but also endangers trust in encrypted communication.”
At the centre of the association’s criticism is the newly revised Section 40 BPolG-E on telecommunications surveillance. The standard creates an independent and comprehensive legal basis for surveillance measures by the Federal Police in the area of threat prevention and effectively also enables the use of source telecommunications surveillance – i.e., access to ongoing communications directly on end devices.
eco criticises this possibility of the creeping introduction of chat controls, as the draft creates an infrastructure that could be misused for mass surveillance.
At the same time, the draft law leaves central constitutional questions unanswered and shifts important considerations of proportionality to practice. eco therefore calls for clear legal limits for such measures, binding rules on handling vulnerabilities, and greater prioritisation of IT security over surveillance interests.
“Weakening encryption is unconstitutional and dangerous from a security policy perspective,” Landefeld concludes.
A detailed German information paper from eco on the federal government’s draft law to modernise the Federal Police Act is available online here (in German language).
