US EditionTop Court Curtails Spy Software Use in Germany
GERMANY, AUG 6 – Germany's Federal Constitutional Court limits law enforcement's use of spy software to investigations of especially heinous crimes, excluding cases with lesser penalties, the court ruled.
- Germany's highest court ruled on August 7, 2025, that law enforcement can use spy software only for serious criminal cases in Berlin.
- This ruling followed concerns raised by Digitalcourage over a 2017 legal reform that allowed broader police surveillance using spy software.
- The court found the 2017 reform vague and allowing surveillance that affected non-suspects, constituting a major privacy rights infringement.
- Police may not monitor communications for crimes punishable by a maximum three-year sentence, and current rules stay until new laws are enacted.
- This decision limits surveillance powers, suggesting stricter privacy protections and requiring legislative updates to meet constitutional standards.
20 Articles
20 Articles
The Constitutional Court has ruled that state Trojans can be used in serious crimes. Critics fear risks.
The highest German court has ruled: The use of so-called state Trojans by persecutors is only permitted in the Federal Republic of Germany for serious crimes.
The constitutional judges give the green light to the use of state Trojans to investigate and prevent serious crimes. In the case of everyday crime, however, they prohibit the use of spying software to the law enforcement authorities.
It is only from a maximum penalty of more than three years that source telecommunications surveillance will be allowed to be used to investigate criminal offences.
The Straits Times
The Star Kuala LumpurGermany's top court limits use of spy software to serious crimes
BERLIN - Germany's top court ruled on Thursday that law enforcement officials can use secretly installed spy software to monitor phones and computers only in cases that involve serious crimes. Read more at straitstimes.com.
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