Germany faces backlash over proposed cuts to Freedom of Information law

On 2 July, the coalition committee of the governing parties (CDU/CSU and SPD) voted to overhaul the German Freedom of Information Act (IFG). The draft would require requesters to prove a "legitimate interest", limit requests to natural persons, exclude organisations such as NGOs, tie the right to German or EU citizenship, end the €500 fee cap and anonymise civil‑service officials in replies.

The proposal has sparked a wave of opposition from 129 civil‑society groups, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Transparency International Germany and Greenpeace. In an open letter, project leader Arne Semsrott called the plan "the gravest attack on state transparency in the history of the Federal Republic", while data‑protection chief Louisa Specht‑Riemenschneider warned it amounts to the "abolition of twenty‑year‑old information freedom".

Separately, the Brandenburg state government announced it is drafting similar restrictions to its own Access to Information Act (AIG), citing the protection of critical infrastructure. The state plan mirrors the federal changes, limiting access to natural persons and excluding interest groups. Media outlets and NGOs have also protested the regional amendment.