Germany Passes Reform Laws for Main Intelligence Service

The German Bundestag passed new legislation to reform the country’s main intelligence agency, the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), on October 21 after leaked documents revealed that the BND helped the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) spy on European politicians. The new regulations are designed to strengthen government monitoring of Germany’s intelligence activities. Under the new code, an “independent panel” consisting of two judges, a federal prosecutor, and a “permanent commissioner” from the Interior Ministry will monitor the BND’s activities. Moreover, the BND will now require permission from the Chancellor’s office to access  international telecommunication networks.

Before the reforms, the BND was not subject to any governmental regulation, approved its own surveillance methods, and could store data from phone calls and text messages indefinitely. The new surveillance reforms will also prohibit industrial espionage, or the collection of information about new product development and marketing strategies, which had provided German companies a comparative advantage over foreign competitors.

Although the Bundestag imposed restrictions on the BND, it also expanded the agency’s capabilities in some areas. The new legislation will allow the BND to spy on EU institutions or EU member states if the objective is to gather “information of significance for [Germany's] foreign policy and security,” according to one of the reform clauses. Moreover, the BND can still cooperate with international intelligence agencies like the NSA to collect information that maintains the safety of Germans abroad.

Not all political parties in Germany welcomed the new reform. Martina Renner from the Left Party stated, "The BND reform law effectively legalizes the BND's notorious breaches of the law. Instead of repentance, reversal or accountability, the BND is being given a free pass to continue mass surveillance.”

On the other hand, those who supported the change claimed that the reform directly tackles concerns about the increasing power of intelligence agencies over private information. Clemens Binninger, a representative of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) remarked, "How else is the BND supposed to protect us against terrorism other than listening in on conversations between people outside of Germany?"