Germany Rules Against Computer Surveillance
Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court recently issued an important ruling regarding privacy and surveillance. After considering a state law that had permitted governmental monitoring of the computers of criminal suspects, the Court ruled that data stored or exchanged in a personal computer is covered by Constitutional principles that protect the right to personal privacy.
While directly addressing the state law, the court’s decision also established ground rules regarding a controversial federal law that governed the ability of secret services agencies to install software to monitor the online activities of suspected terrorists. According to the ruling, authorities would be able to use such monitoring software only in exceptional cases and then only with the approval of a judge.
The decision has great significance, not only for Germany but also for the rest of the international community as countries around the globe continue to debate over where, precisely, the line should be drawn between efforts to protect individual privacy and attempts to provide for national security.
