Security Pack: Traffic lights for biometric tracking and big data analysis

The security package unveiled by the German government after the deadly Solingen knife attack in August comes with slight restrictions on limited surveillance rights. “We have been able to enshrine in law that retrospective biometric comparisons with Internet data cannot be used against people who do not represent a threat,” emphasizes Konstantin von Notz, deputy leader of the Green parliamentary group, in an assessment of the results of the negotiations. between government factions, which is available online at heise. The politician from the interior, along with his colleagues Dirk Wiese (SPD) and Konstantin Kuhle (FDP), had previously announced on Friday that the coalition had agreed on corrections to the government’s draft.

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According to the agreement, powers envisaged by the executive for biometric comparison of publicly accessible internet data, for example for facial recognition, will remain in principle. The goal of the hotly contested and so far vague initiative is to make it easier for investigators to identify suspects or wanted persons. Witnesses and victims, for example, who do not have an interest worthy of protection, are now excluded. According to von Notz, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), the Federal Police and the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) can only “work with providers based in the Schengen area and the EU” when it’s about digital analysis. The transfer of data to third countries with a lower level of protection is therefore ruled out.

The government also wanted to enable “automated analysis of police data by the BKA and the Federal Police” with AI support, as well as the testing and training of data for AI-style applications from Palantir & Co. Specifically, this means that the vast number of police databases can be virtually merged and automatically searched. There is concern that the presumption of innocence will be lost. According to the Green Paper, the coalition now limits these new powers of police authorities “to the prosecution or prevention of the most serious crimes”, such as murder and manslaughter, aggravated robbery or the formation of a terrorist organization

Amendment to become law in a hurry

The government must also “outline the constitutional and European law-compliant use” of all new powers “by means of a statutory order”. It must involve the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider in this process. We have “significantly improved” the control rights of the supervisory authority over the systems used, emphasizes von Notz. Together, the Greens have managed to push through “numerous very relevant fixes” despite the poor initial situation. These ensured real applicability and increased the effectiveness of many standards.

Despite the amendments, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) was convinced that the package was “the right response to today’s considerable threats, especially from Islamist terrorism, following the murderous attack in Solingen”. Liberal Kuhle spoke of a moderate expansion of police powers that respects fundamental rights. The specific amendments are still being drafted. However, they are expected to go through Parliament’s Internal Affairs Committee as early as next Wednesday and through the plenary assemblies of the Bundestag and Bundesrat in the next two days.

At a hearing in September, experts gave the original proposals a cautious and negative assessment. Specht-Riemenschneider warned that the powers for such intensive measures in fundamental rights should not be created hastily. For example, all the proposed standards for facial recognition were too vague and allowed considerable interference with the rights of non-involved persons. Bremen-based information law expert Dennis-Kenji Kipker warned that the security authority’s data is “super huge”. The Chaos Computer Club (CCC) & Co. of civil society criticized the planned “comprehensive biometric surveillance”.

(chh)