Germany: Civil society organizations criticize proposed security measures
A group of civil society organizations in Germany has published an open letter voicing opposition to a slate of new security measures proposed by the ruling coalition. The letter is addressed to members of the German Bundestag (Parliament) and criticizes both the expansion of law enforcement powers in the digital realm and the limiting of the right to asylum.
The letter’s signatories include Amnesty International, the Chaos Computer Club, and Wikimedia Deutschland. Under the title “Take a Stand: Defend Human Rights and the Rule of Law, Stop Biometric Facial Recognition,” the group calls on lawmakers to rethink the planned measures and oppose any form of biometric remote identification in Germany.
The letter argues that any gains in security that might potentially result from the proposed laws are not proportionate to the harm caused. Furthermore, the legislation will burden law enforcement agencies with additional tasks that will keep them from performing their actual function. In certain areas the measures have “a purely symbolic character.”
“Despite serious open questions regarding the effectiveness of the proposed measures and their compliance with EU law and the [German] constitution, this package is set to be approved and implemented in record time,” the organizations write. They urge lawmakers to oppose this “mindless impulse to act” and stand for the rule of law and fundamental and human rights.
Biometric mass surveillance
In early September the federal cabinet agreed on draft legislation containing the proposed security measures. The signatories to the letter are particularly critical of the plans to introduce biometric surveillance on a mass scale. The laws would allow the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees to use biometric data to determine the identity of asylum seekers. Refugees need not be suspected of having committed a crime for the authorities to use such data.
The Federal Criminal Police Office and Federal Police would be allowed to use biometric data to determine the identity of suspects. These agencies would be permitted to compare individuals’ biometric data with publicly available photos, videos, or sound recordings taken from the internet. The use of artificial intelligence by law enforcement agencies would also be allowed.
The organizations argue in their letter that these measures would require the creation of a giant, indiscriminate facial recognition database. They point out that such facial recognition databases are prohibited under Article 5 of the EU’s law on artificial intelligence, on the grounds that they enable mass surveillance and can violate fundamental rights.
“Granted, there are exceptions in the context of national security, but a prohibition of the use of biometric remote identification systems is explicitly possible under the AI Act and can legally be introduced by the member states,” the organizations write.
Human rights protections cannot be conditional, the signatories warn. “Especially in light of the growing strength of extreme right-wing parties, democratic forces must work together to minimize the potential for the institutional abuse of power.”
The letter also points out that in their coalition agreement, the ruling parties pledge to explicitly reject both “biometric recognition in public spaces” and the “use of biometric [data] gathering for surveillance purposes.”
Pending legislation
The security package criticized in the letter is a response by the federal government to events like the knife attack that took place last month in the city of Solingen and resulted in the deaths of three people. The package consists of two separate pieces of draft legislation, one of which only contains measures that do not require the approval of the Bundesrat (Federal Council).
On Monday the Committee for the Interior and Community took up the first piece of draft legislation, titled “Draft Legislation for the Improvement of Internal Security and the Asylum System.” The measures outlined therein, like the use of biometric data to screen asylum seekers, do not require Bundesrat approval. The second piece of draft legislation proposed by the coalition parties, “Draft Legislation for Improving the Fight against Terrorism,” must pass both the Bundestag and Bundesrat.
The next step for the legislation after the committee’s review would be a second and third reading before the full Bundestag. The timeline for this next step is not yet clear. (hcz)