Overview
- The cabinet approved the reform on Wednesday, formally giving the foreign intelligence service BND and the domestic security agency BfV narrow operational intervention powers alongside broader surveillance authorities.
- The draft lists concrete active measures such as manipulating foreign IT systems, covertly entering premises to neutralize explosive components, and permitting weapons use at least for self‑defence by operatives in certain scenarios.
- Digital powers in the bill include court‑ordered online searches, an expanded Quellen‑TKÜ to capture older encrypted content, longer data retention periods, and potential access to vehicle telematics and other private sector data.
- The government would centralize oversight by strengthening the Unabhängiger Kontrollrat and requiring regular reports to the Parliamentary Control Panel, with ministers framing these controls as the safeguard for the new authorities.
- Opponents from parties and civil‑society groups warn the changes break post‑war limits between police and intelligence, risk targeting left‑wing and climate activists, and could face parliamentary pushback and constitutional review if passed into law next year.