From cede9946f8a2f97ed90afd89ccd66574a2bb3fd5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: presse Date: Sat, 18 Apr 2009 19:12:41 +0000 Subject: committing page revision 1 --- updates/2008/trojaner-notschlachten.en.md | 63 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 63 insertions(+) create mode 100644 updates/2008/trojaner-notschlachten.en.md (limited to 'updates/2008/trojaner-notschlachten.en.md') diff --git a/updates/2008/trojaner-notschlachten.en.md b/updates/2008/trojaner-notschlachten.en.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..8e0b93ad --- /dev/null +++ b/updates/2008/trojaner-notschlachten.en.md @@ -0,0 +1,63 @@ +title: German constitutional court creates new fundamental right to digital privacy +date: 2008-02-27 00:00:00 +updated: 2009-04-18 19:12:41 +author: presse +tags: update, pressemitteilung + +Today, Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court, the country’s highest court, flatly rejected North Rhine-Westphalia’s Constitutional Protection Act, which is designed to permit the so-called online search of computers and other IT systems. + + + +The Karlsruhe judges made it clear with their decision that the society +has a legitimate interest in the confidentiality and integrity of the IT +systems it increasingly depends on and that freedom of thought also +exists if ideas are stored on to a computer. The Chaos Computer Club +(CCC) has been demanding this right to digital privacy for over 25 +years. The protection of the digital self not only affects computers but +also telephones and other networked devices. “We can only hope that the +politicians who only know the internet from print-outs don't need +another quarter of a century until they have taken this new fundamental +right on board”, Dirk Engling, the CCC’s spokesman, commented. + +The constitutional court judges point out in their oral reasons for the +judgement that the systematic tapping of communication data and the +creation of personality profiles are serious violations of basic rights. +“We assume that this judgement will also apply to the constitutional +review of the Data Retention Act”, Dirk Engling said. Several +constitutional complaints have been filed against the data retention +that came to effect in January. + +“The judges have given the lawmakers a slap in the face for allowing all +kinds of information systems to be spied on, in contravention of basic +rights”, Dirk Engling continued. “Spying on hard disks will only be +possible within strictly defined limits. The Federal Constitutional +Court has provided humanity's virtual self with a digital protective +shield.” + +Analysing the data seized will also have to be based on the criteria +relating to the new basic right. The investigation authorities’ +procedures when collecting evidence by digital means must now be +immediately put to the test. The searching of hard disks by private +companies, which has recently become commonplace, is therefore clearly +unconstitutional. The judges also determined that informational +self-protection through encryption is a right that may only be abrogated +under very strict conditions. + +The Chaos Computer Club once again came to Karlsruhe for the delivery of +the judgement with the black, red and gold “Federal Trojan”, which is +the symbol of resistance against online searches. The Green Party, which +recently attracted negative attention by waving through former interior +minister Otto Schily’s “spying laws” and endorsing the ban on hacker +tools, tried to demonstrate their newly found love for digital civil +rights with a vigil in front of the court. This civil rights friendly +position will hopefully be maintained if the Greens get back into +government. + +The lawyers will turn their attention to interpreting the judgement in +the next few weeks and draw the relevant conclusions. “Although the +Federal Trojan was positively slaughtered, important other decisions on +basic rights are imminent. However, we don't expect Wolfgang Schäuble +(the Federal Interior Minister) or Dieter Wiefelspütz (the German Social +Democratic Party’s expert on domestic policy) to suddenly take our +constitution seriously. The new basic right will only come to life if it +is aggressively defended and exercised.” -- cgit v1.2.3