Hesse Passes Overhaul of Intelligence Law, Allowing Court-Approved Online Searches

Overview

• The CDU–SPD majority in the Wiesbaden Landtag approved a reform granting the LfV covert access to extremists’ computers and phones with a judge’s order.
• The law extends retention periods for minors’ data in defined exception cases tied to radicalization and terrorist aims.
• A new legal basis permits the agency to publicly label groups or parties as extremist suspects or confirmed anti-constitutional, closing a gap exposed by litigation with the AfD.
• Lawmakers also updated parliamentary oversight so annual reports to the Landtag cover the use of online searches.
• Greens and FDP criticized thresholds for phone tracking and information sharing as too low, and the AfD warned that expanded public communications risk political instrumentalization.