German digital rights groups condemn government surveillance plans

Civil society in Germany is outraged by the federal government's draft law, which grants extensive powers to police to automatically monitor publicly available biometric data, such as photos. Six nonprofits, including Amnesty International, have rallied against the restriction “of the basic rights of millions.”

The "Stop facial recognition" alliance campaigns to ban automatic facial recognition and other biometric remote recognition in public. Some organizations even warn that they can take extreme measures.

“If this draft law is passed, it will no longer be enough to write nice statements and organize a demonstration against data retention every three years. In the future, we would have to instruct on how to sabotage and shut down surveillance measures,” Matthias Marx, spokesperson for the Chaos Computer Club (CCC), Europe’s largest association of hackers, said.

Six organizations in Germany, such as D64, Amnesty International, AlgorithmWatch, and others, oppose the so-called “Security Package” draft, which contains a multitude of new powers for investigative authorities, such as remote facial recognition systems in public.

The draft is part of the proposed measures to limit illegal immigration and fight terrorism. According to golem.de, the proposed legislation includes an automated data processing application, which compares biometric data, such as face or voice, with photos and videos accessible on the internet.

“The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) should therefore be authorized to carry out biometric comparisons with publicly accessible data from the internet,” according to a press release by the Bundestag.

Digital rights groups worry that the new powers will restrict the basic rights of millions of citizens, especially marginalized groups, including asylum seekers, refugees, and people affected by racism.

“The federal government is being driven by the fascists and is moving in record time from ‘maintaining anonymity’ to ‘monitoring everyone biometrically.’ But there are no technical solutions to social problems,” the spokesperson for CCC added.

Svea Windwehr, co-chair of D64 – Center for Digital Progress, warns that basic rights are being radically restricted in a rush without consultation with experts or associations, opening the door to mass surveillance.

Christian Mihr, Deputy Secretary General of Amnesty International in Germany warns that if the law is passed, the state will be able to search all people’s photos or sound recordings on the internet using voice and facial recognition technology.

“Right now, the focus must be on upholding human rights and not trying to outdo each other with racist attributions and mindless tightening of laws,” Mihr says.

“These powers are a gateway for racial profiling and should instead be abolished.”

“The promise that AI-supported data analysis and biometric recognition of public images and videos will provide more security is a false promise,” Matthias Spielkamp, ​​Managing Director of AlgorithmWatch, states.