đđ©đȘBerlin approves controversial new police law: Extensive powers for digital surveillance and secret entry into homes.
The Berlin parliament has approved an amendment to the Public Order and Security Act (ASOG) that significantly expands the police's powers in the area of ââsurveillance.
The amendment allows for secret entry into private homes to install spyware such as "Staatstrojaner" (state Trojan), monitor digital communications, online searches and extended video surveillance using AI, including facial and voice recognition.
According to sections 26a and 26b, if remote installation of malware is not possible, the police can physically enter the premises of suspects and access their devices to intercept encrypted messages or data in real time.
The law also allows the activation of cameras in private spaces when there is a suspicion of a threat to life and the collection of telephone data in certain locations, including checking license plates and anti-drone measures.
These measures are limited to serious crimes, as set by the German Constitutional Court in August 2025.
The law, supported by the CDU-SPD coalition and the opposition AfD, is defended by Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) as a necessary modernization to combat terrorism and crime in the digital age.
However, critics warn of an âunprecedented invasion of privacyâ and the risk of establishing an âauthoritarian surveillance stateâ.
Green Party representative Vasili Franco called the measures âfull-scale surveillanceâ, while Berlinâs data protection ombudsman Meike Kamp described them as âa frontal attack on citizensâ IT securityâ. The NoASOG alliance and organizations such as
netzpolitik.org highlight the disproportionate nature of the measures and the potential for abuses that could threaten civil liberties.
The law will enter into force at the end of 2025 and has sparked a wide-ranging debate about the balance between security and privacy in Germany.