What Is Current State Of Germany’s Security Laws?
Institute publishes “Surveillance Barometer”
After around a year of work, the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security, and Law has completed its scientific investigation of security laws in Germany: the “surveillance barometer”. The Freiburg-based institute was awarded the contract at the beginning of 2024, and the results are now available on the Federal Ministries of Justice and Interior websites.
The project set out to capture and evaluate the surveillance powers and measures of the nation’s security and law enforcement bodies. Commissioned by the previous government, the study delivers a comprehensive overview of the surveillance landscape and serves as an important evidence-based foundation for informed legal policy discussions. The results show that surveillance powers in Germany are wide-ranging and governed by a highly complex legal framework. Most of these powers are considered to have a moderate degree of severity. However, most authorities are not yet able to provide reliable statistical data on the number of surveillance measures they carry out.
The study systematically evaluates the surveillance powers of German security and law enforcement agencies-ranging from search orders to phone monitoring. It includes federal and state security legislation as well as the German Code of Criminal Procedure. The research team, led by Max Planck Director Ralf Poscher, measured the intrusiveness of these powers using objective standards, such as the type of data collected and the permissible surveillance duration. They also investigated both formal and substantive conditions under which these measures can be used, covering issues such as the grounds justifying surveillance, the intended purposes, and the safeguards in place for those affected, like deletion protocols and logging demands. All criteria were rooted in case law of the Federal Constitutional Court.
Altogether, researchers cataloged and assessed over 3,200 statutory powers through which authorities can implement surveillance. Their evaluation revealed that, overall, Germany’s security powers are defined by a high degree of complexity. Most measures fall into a broad medium category of intrusiveness, with a few exceptions at the extremes.
Yet the report also points out serious deficiencies in agencies’ record-keeping. “It is currently not possible to obtain reliable statistical data on the number of surveillance measures carried out,” the report notes. According to the research team, this shortcoming not only hampers accurate estimation of the societal “surveillance burden”, but, critically from a constitutional viewpoint, also undermines the ability to weigh the proportionality of state interference with civil liberties.
“Providing citizens with a factual, evidence-based assessment is essential for societal understanding of surveillance, not least since the risks such measures pose to civil liberties can easily be overstated or understated in the public debate,” explains project lead Ralf Poscher. For instance, powers like online searches often stir public concern-yet little attention is paid to how infrequently they are actually deployed.
Poscher and co-author Michael Kilchling also stress the barometer’s democratic significance as a tool for transparency. “Transparency as a prerequisite for democratic decision-making and participation requires access to information,” the legal scholars affirm. The methodology developed for this project could enhance policy debates about the balance between security and freedom by injecting social transparency and evidence-based insights.
The full findings span three volumes: the research report, a manual, and a data volume, reflecting the study’s depth and sophistication. The project confirms the viability of its approach. Enhanced transparency around all surveillance activities by German authorities, and especially, better use of digital possibilities, emerges as essential.
Project Leaders: Ralf Poscher, Michael Kilchling.
Research Team: André Bartsch, Svenja Behrendt, Marc Bovermann, Sabrina Ellebrecht, Johanna Fink, Jakob Hohnerlein, Jakob Mutter, Jonah Röper, Isabelle Weiss, Maja Werner.
Download Surveillance Barometer, Manual, Database (in German)
https://www.mpg.de/24667558/0506-stra-what-is-the-current-state-of-germany-s-security-laws-151860-x