Overview

• The Bundesverfassungsgericht found the BND's strategic surveillance of international communications to be partly unconstitutional, particularly regarding privacy protections.
• Amnesty International and other human rights groups successfully challenged the surveillance practices, leading to the court's decision for reform.
• The court emphasized the need for a more robust control mechanism, criticizing the current G-10 Commission for being inadequate.
• The BND is required to exclude domestic communications from their surveillance and avoid using search terms that infringe on personal privacy.
• The German legislature has until December 2026 to implement the necessary changes, allowing current practices to continue under specific conditions until then.