Berlin The internal government dispute over the use of so-called data retention to fight crime threatens to escalate. The reason for this is the announcement by Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) that he would call in the coalition committee if necessary in order to bring about a decision in his favour.
Like the FDP, Buschmann favors the “quick freeze procedure”. In the event of suspicion, a judge must first order that certain data may be backed up. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) considers the procedure insufficient to solve crimes and therefore advocates mandatory storage of IP addresses.
“I don’t want to lead any old debates, but act pragmatically,” Faeser told the Handelsblatt. “The coalition agreement gives us the space to implement what is permissible and urgently necessary according to the ECJ ruling.”
In September, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) set narrow limits on the storage of telecommunications data for the investigation of criminal offenses in Germany, but declared the storage of only IP addresses for investigations to be justifiable without cause.
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Faeser wants to use the leeway, while Buschmann argues that the coalition agreement already states that data can be stored on a case-by-case basis and with the approval of a judge, which his “quick freeze model” provides for.
Buschmann: “Don’t put 83 million people in Germany under general suspicion without cause”
“If we still can’t agree at the ministerial level, then the coalition committee will probably have to deal with the issue,” said the FDP politician to the editorial network Germany (RND). “I don’t see that the wording of the coalition agreement leaves much room for manoeuvre.”
According to Buschmann’s plans, telecommunications providers should be obliged to store data on individual users for a certain period of time if there is an initial suspicion. After all, “Quick Freeze” would have one advantage for the investigators: If a judge ordered the “freezing” of data on a specific suspected case, connection and location data would be available in addition to the IP address.
Interior Minister Faeser therefore sees the proposed “quick freeze procedure” only as a supplement in certain cases. “But it is not a substitute for storing IP addresses,” said the SPD politician. Because if no more data are available, the decisive investigative approach is often missing.
“Therefore, I will continue to work very hard to provide our investigative authorities with the necessary tools to be able to take action against sexualized violence against children and other serious crimes.”
Especially in the fight against child sexual abuse, stored IP addresses are necessary in order to identify perpetrators and their networks and to be able to protect children, emphasized Faeser. “It is shocking that in 2021 an average of 49 children in Germany were victims of sexualized violence every day in 2021,” said Faeser. “No perpetrator should feel safe from prosecution.”
BKA stands behind the Minister of the Interior – Buschmann sees a possible violation of fundamental rights
The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) sees it like Faeser and refuses to move away from data retention. “Crime is becoming more and more digital,” said the authority’s president, Holger Münch, recently at the BKA autumn conference in Wiesbaden.
The police must have the same opportunities and powers in the digital space as in the analogue world. The storage of IP addresses is an important component in identifying perpetrators.
Buschmann is particularly upset by the fact that with data retention “millions of citizens who are never guilty of anything are placed under general suspicion and are supposed to endure an encroachment on their right to informational self-determination”. However, this regulation of “mass storage without cause” is contrary to fundamental rights and is therefore not applied.
“We don’t want to put 83 million people in Germany under general suspicion without cause,” emphasized the minister.
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