Overview
- The Bundestag passed the package on Friday, November 13, 2026, giving the foreign spy service (BND) and the domestic Verfassungsschutz new operative authorities beyond information collection.
- New powers spelled out in the law include court-authorised hacking and so-called hackbacks to manipulate or delete data, large‑scale AI analysis of datasets, biometric matching against online images, and conditional covert entry into homes or business premises.
- The reform creates a strengthened independent control council and expands court‑like review for some measures, but experts and rights groups warn the council lacks enforcement teeth, that services may act in urgent cases without prior approval, and that safeguards for professions such as doctors and journalists are narrowed in practice.
- The government argues the changes are needed to counter covert Russian actions, Chinese espionage, Iran-linked threats and domestic radicalization, while opposition parties and civil-liberty groups warn of digital mass surveillance and heightened risk of politicised misuse, and several legal commentators say a challenge at the Federal Constitutional Court is likely.
- Next steps include Bundesrat consideration and almost certain constitutional litigation, with watchdogs saying the outcome will determine how the law is applied and whether limits on covert entry, AI-driven interventions and protections for confidential relationships survive judicial review.