The German Federal Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that the current regulations regarding surveillance of foreign citizens abroad are unconstitutional, and violate the right to privacy of telecommunications and freedom of the press
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th May, 2020) The German Federal Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that the current regulations regarding surveillance of foreign citizens abroad are unconstitutional, and violate the right to privacy of telecommunications and freedom of the press.
"In its judgment pronounced today, the First Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court held that the Federal Intelligence Service (Bundesnachrichtendienst - BND) is bound by the fundamental rights of the Basic Law when conducting telecommunications surveillance of foreigners in other countries and that the statutory bases in their current design violate the fundamental right to privacy of telecommunications (Art. 10(1) of the Basic Law, Grundgesetz - GG) and the freedom of the press," the court said in a press release, citing the ruling.
The press release said that the judgment applies to the collection, processing and transfer of data, adding that the current regulations must be adjusted to comply with the constitution by the end of 2021.
"If designed in accordance with the principle of proportionality, however, strategic telecommunications surveillance of foreigners in other countries is, in principle, compatible with the fundamental rights of the Basic Law. Therefore, the challenged provisions may continue to apply until the end of 2021 in order to allow the legislator to enact new provisions taking into account the constitutional requirements," the press release added.
The relevant proceedings were launched in a response to a complaint against the law, allowing the intelligence service to track foreigners' communications while filtering out the data of citizens and residents of Germany. The law was adopted after former US intelligence employee and whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked classified documents revealing the National Security Agency's mass surveillance program, which had been collecting telephone, email and internet browsing records on nearly everyone in the United States, despite a law prohibiting spying on US citizens without a court order.
