German Court Rules BND's International Surveillance Partially Unconstitutional

The Federal Constitutional Court mandates revisions to the BND's surveillance practices by 2026, citing privacy concerns.

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.