German Court Abolishes German Snooping Law

Robert writes to mention that Germany's highest court has imposed limitations on the amount of spying governmental bodies can do on a suspect's computer. The ruling comes in response to a state law on North Rhine Westphalia that had allowed secret services to peer into a citizen's computer. "Court President Hans-Juergen Papier said that using such software contravened rights enshrined in Germany's constitution, adding that the decision would serve as a precedent across the country. The ruling emphasized that cyber spying by the authorities would have to receive the permission of a judge. The German government has described cyber spying as a vital tool in fighting terrorism."

Comments

Correction to German Government statement

[davidwr]

The German government has described cyber spying as a vital tool in fighting terrorism. Correction:

The German government has described cyber spying as a vital tool in ensuring totalitarianism. There, fixed that for them.

Re:you live and you learn

[LingNoi]

and if you're a Crytek employee you get a shotgun up your nose with a screaming German police officer on the other side..

When I tell people in Germany what I do for a living, they usually react with a mixture of pity and disgust, like I had admitted to them I was a male prostitute.

For computer games both the press and public are histrionic, and the politicians are keen to tap into every reactionary outrage...

Yeah... sounds like a great place to live..