Key Points
- German high court has limited the use of police spy software to serious criminal investigations.
- The court called the use of spyware a “serious interference” with privacy rights.
- The ruling came from a complaint by a digital rights group that a 2017 law was too broad.
- Police cannot use spyware to investigate crimes, as this would violate the law, which carries a maximum sentence of three years.
Germany’s top court ruled Thursday that police can only use secretly installed spy software to monitor phones and computers when they are investigating serious crimes. The decision puts strict new limits on a controversial 2017 law that gave law enforcement broad surveillance powers.
The ruling came after a digital rights group, Digitalcourage, complained that the law was too vague. They were worried it allowed police to spy on people who weren’t even suspects, especially when monitoring encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp.
The court agreed, calling this type of surveillance a “serious interference” with a person’s right to privacy. Because of this, the judges said it can only be justified when looking into “especially heinous crimes.”
As a result, police can no longer use this kind of spyware to investigate less serious offenses, specifically any crime that has a maximum sentence of three years.
While the court found parts of the current law to be unconstitutional, it will remain in place for now. The German government must now create new, stricter regulations that follow the court’s new guidelines.
