German police may be using advertising data unlawfully obtained from brokers
Criminal investigation offices in at least 2 German states are using data obtained from brokers to gather information about suspects.
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Criminal investigation offices in at least 2 German states use advertising data obtained from data traders.
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Authorities say commercially collected data is used to investigate cyber and white-collar crime.
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Law experts say such practice is illegal and poses the risk of mass surveillance.
A report by German news website Netzpolitik confirms what experts have long suspected: German law enforcement is turning to data brokers to obtain information on potential criminals.
At least 2 state criminal investigation offices have purchased data collected for advertising purposes. The data is siphoned off from popular apps and provided to brokers via tracking companies. Those affected are usually unaware of their data being sold.
The Brandenburg State Criminal Police Office told Netzpolitik that it uses commercially acquired data from brokers and other providers on a case-by-case basis to gather information in order to combat various forms of crime.
Such data is used to investigate cyber and white-collar crimes, among other things, and to analyze connections between perpetrators and crimes.
Police in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania also said it was sometimes using data obtained from “a small number of established commercial providers” to investigate cybercrime and white-collar crime.
According to Netzpolitik, it is possible that more German state police forces are using such data, as authorities in 9 states refused to provide information on whether they use data traders’ services.
Police forces in only 5 states – Bremen, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt, and Schleswig-Holstein – explicitly denied using data collected from brokers.
The report emphasizes that it is unclear whether taxpayer money was used to pay for data that may have been illegally obtained.
Mark Zöller, a law professor at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, told investigators that there is no legal basis for police using data collected for advertising purposes, making the practice illegal.
In addition, experts warned widespread application of advertising intelligence – an investigative method that uses commercially collected data – could result in uncontrolled mass surveillance.
A 2024 Netzpolitik investigation found that data brokers in Germany sell location data for millions of people, which can help identify where they work, live, or visit places like hospitals or brothels.
Researchers also managed to obtain locations and movements of individuals who work for federal ministries, the German military, security authorities, and intelligence services.
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