Federal Minister of the Interior Faeser has changed her mind about the EU Commission’s plan: “I don’t think checking every private message without a reason is compatible with our civil liberties.”
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) wants to step up the fight against child abuse. However, the SPD politician now rejects the EU Commission’s proposal to also search encrypted Messenger messages. In an initial reaction, she had still expressed approval, that has changed.
“I want to tighten the pace against the perpetrators who do terrible violence to children. We must take tougher action against this disgusting criminality – especially at the European level, to get at the big platforms,” she told Bild am Sonntag. “But we must not interfere with encrypted private communications and thus hit many people who have nothing whatsoever to do with these acts.”
It is a great achievement, she said, that there are communications that the state is not allowed to look into. “To check every private message without any reason, I don’t think is compatible with our civil liberties,” Faeser said. Abusive images are shared and marketed primarily in forums and on darknet platforms, she said. “It is precisely these that we must consistently keep an eye on, convict the perpetrators, and shut down the platforms. If material is discovered there, the provider must immediately inform the investigating authorities so that they can take immediate action,” the minister stressed. This approach will clearly lead to more cases of investigation. That’s why there must be additional positions in the police and law enforcement agencies in the states, as well as “very good technical equipment.”
Bushman and Wissing are also against it
Those who share photos and videos of sexual abuse of children on the net are to be caught more easily in the future, according to the will of the EU Commission. According to a draft law presented in mid-May, providers such as WhatsApp, Signal, Threema and many others could be required to use software to search their services for already known depictions, depictions not yet known, and grooming. In addition, an EU center is to be set up to provide the relevant technology.
The EU Parliament and member states must approve the project. Since German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann and Digital Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) have already spoken out against the plan, it is becoming apparent that Germany will not approve the draft, at least in this form, in the Council.
Hell yeah! Fuck that shit!
I sincerely hope so. Eurocrats and others are so relentless in their push for mass spying.
If this would be agreed in Germany, I wouldn’t know for what the hell we have liberals in the government after all. If there’s one thing they are good at then it’s stopping this bs.
Arh!!! Evil Germans destroying EU again. /s
Thank you guys.
Be vigilant.
It would not be the first time, some strange things happen, and suddenly the “Agriculture and Fisheries Council” vote for that shit (like it happend with ACTA some years ago).
That’s fine. None of us want a system that is implemented in that manner anyway.
And situations like this are a perfect example as to why the (still definitely necessary) abolishment of the veto must go along with a strengthening of the EP, at least to the point where the Council and Commission can no longer simply circumvent it. The fact that this was on the table at all should serve as a chilling piece of evidence that the state governments on the Council are simply too far removed from the popular will of the people of the EU to hold the ability to legislate pretty much alone – we have the EP, directly elected by and from all citizens, for good reason – but its weak state leaves it unable to exercise the controlling function that is so dearly necessary.
“I don’t think checking every private message without a reason is compatible with our civil liberties.”
Little bit slow your brain is Ms. Faeser. Wasn’t that obvious from the very beginning?
That’s big!
We’ll still have to stay vigilant, but that is great.
>”I don’t think checking every private message without a reason is compatible with our civil liberties.”
And she’s right.
Thanks, FDP.
Under the previous CDU government it would have gone through guaranteed. Pretty happy we voted them out.
But the assault on online privacy won’t stop there, so I’m still worried for the future. Hopefully we’ll manage to put some solid privacy protections into law first.
Thank you Germany
I hope so. Stop taking away our privacy and freedoms!
15 comments
Source in German, Deepl-Translation:
Federal Minister of the Interior Faeser has changed her mind about the EU Commission’s plan: “I don’t think checking every private message without a reason is compatible with our civil liberties.”
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) wants to step up the fight against child abuse. However, the SPD politician now rejects the EU Commission’s proposal to also search encrypted Messenger messages. In an initial reaction, she had still expressed approval, that has changed.
“I want to tighten the pace against the perpetrators who do terrible violence to children. We must take tougher action against this disgusting criminality – especially at the European level, to get at the big platforms,” she told Bild am Sonntag. “But we must not interfere with encrypted private communications and thus hit many people who have nothing whatsoever to do with these acts.”
It is a great achievement, she said, that there are communications that the state is not allowed to look into. “To check every private message without any reason, I don’t think is compatible with our civil liberties,” Faeser said. Abusive images are shared and marketed primarily in forums and on darknet platforms, she said. “It is precisely these that we must consistently keep an eye on, convict the perpetrators, and shut down the platforms. If material is discovered there, the provider must immediately inform the investigating authorities so that they can take immediate action,” the minister stressed. This approach will clearly lead to more cases of investigation. That’s why there must be additional positions in the police and law enforcement agencies in the states, as well as “very good technical equipment.”
Bushman and Wissing are also against it
Those who share photos and videos of sexual abuse of children on the net are to be caught more easily in the future, according to the will of the EU Commission. According to a draft law presented in mid-May, providers such as WhatsApp, Signal, Threema and many others could be required to use software to search their services for already known depictions, depictions not yet known, and grooming. In addition, an EU center is to be set up to provide the relevant technology.
The EU Parliament and member states must approve the project. Since German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann and Digital Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) have already spoken out against the plan, it is becoming apparent that Germany will not approve the draft, at least in this form, in the Council.
Hell yeah! Fuck that shit!
I sincerely hope so. Eurocrats and others are so relentless in their push for mass spying.
If this would be agreed in Germany, I wouldn’t know for what the hell we have liberals in the government after all. If there’s one thing they are good at then it’s stopping this bs.
Arh!!! Evil Germans destroying EU again. /s
Thank you guys.
Be vigilant.
It would not be the first time, some strange things happen, and suddenly the “Agriculture and Fisheries Council” vote for that shit (like it happend with ACTA some years ago).
That’s fine. None of us want a system that is implemented in that manner anyway.
And situations like this are a perfect example as to why the (still definitely necessary) abolishment of the veto must go along with a strengthening of the EP, at least to the point where the Council and Commission can no longer simply circumvent it. The fact that this was on the table at all should serve as a chilling piece of evidence that the state governments on the Council are simply too far removed from the popular will of the people of the EU to hold the ability to legislate pretty much alone – we have the EP, directly elected by and from all citizens, for good reason – but its weak state leaves it unable to exercise the controlling function that is so dearly necessary.
“I don’t think checking every private message without a reason is compatible with our civil liberties.”
Little bit slow your brain is Ms. Faeser. Wasn’t that obvious from the very beginning?
That’s big!
We’ll still have to stay vigilant, but that is great.
>”I don’t think checking every private message without a reason is compatible with our civil liberties.”
And she’s right.
Thanks, FDP.
Under the previous CDU government it would have gone through guaranteed. Pretty happy we voted them out.
But the assault on online privacy won’t stop there, so I’m still worried for the future. Hopefully we’ll manage to put some solid privacy protections into law first.
Thank you Germany
I hope so. Stop taking away our privacy and freedoms!