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German state police surveillance law expansions

Overview

German states are proposing expansions to police powers and surveillance capabilities, drawing criticism from data protection and digital rights advocates.

In Lower Saxony, the State Commissioner for Data Protection issued a report criticizing the proposed NPOG2 law. The draft includes measures such as intelligent video surveillance, real-time biometric remote identification, and the use of drones and automated data analysis.

Similarly, the Thuringian state government has proposed a new Police Tasks Act. This legislation introduces facial recognition and automated behavioral analysis through camera systems designed to flag ‘unusual’ behavior. The proposal also seeks the permanent merging and automated analysis of police databases to identify connections between individuals. Digital rights organizations and the Chaos Computer Club have warned that these measures could lead to the continuous monitoring of individuals not suspected of crimes and may reinforce existing biases.

Entities

Thuringian State Parliament · Lower Saxony · Chaos Computer Club · Thuringia State Government · Lower Saxony State Commissioner for Data Protection

Timeline

  1. 17 days ago

    [POLITICS] 6 sources
    Thuringia proposes expansion of police surveillance powers

    Thuringia's government proposes expanding police powers through facial recognition, automated behavioral surveillance, and large-scale data analysis, drawing criticism from digital rights groups.

  2. 21 days ago

    [POLITICS] 2 sources
    Lower Saxony data protection commissioner criticizes police law expansion

    The Lower Saxony State Commissioner for Data Protection has issued a report criticizing proposed police law expansions, including biometric surveillance and automated data analysis.

Sources

all-about-security.de · ccc.de · freiheitsfoo.de · gn-online.de · mobil.zeit.de · netzpolitik.org · regionalheute.de · tlz.de