Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) wants to complete the work after years of delays in implementing a quick-freeze approach of freezing connections and location data for law enforcement. They have submitted a new draft Bill for “Introduction of Protection Order for Traffic Data in the Code of Criminal Procedure” (STPO) for coordination with other federal government departments. The Liberals made the first attempt to do so in autumn 2022. According to the Federal Ministry of Justice (BMJ), it was “selectively adjusted” following general agreement within the executive branch on this principle in April.
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with Draft published by Netzpolitik.orgA new paragraph should be added to section 100G STPO. Traffic data must therefore be protected on an event-related basis for the prosecution of “significant offences” to the extent that they may be material to researching the facts of a case or determining the whereabouts of an accused. In principle, this measure should only be admissible on the orders of a judge.
This limits the amount of data stored to what is necessary, writes the BMJ. Only traffic data that already exists and will be generated by providers of telecommunications services for operational purposes in the future should be frozen. Messenger services should not be required to secure connection and location data.
Detailed list of crimes
If certain facts give rise to suspicion that someone, as perpetrator or participant, “has committed a crime of considerable importance, even in individual cases”, in particular paragraph 100a paragraph 2 Quick Freeze takes action on the paper if a crime referred to has been committed. This comparatively broad catalogue, which also allows interception of telecommunications, starts with murder and manslaughter, robbery or blackmail. It also includes gang theft, some forms of money laundering, computer fraud, tax evasion, drug crimes and child sexual exploitation and the distribution, acquisition and possession of relevant representations. This wording also allows the victim’s data to be protected.
Enhanced requirements should apply to the collection of stored location data: here the offense would have to be “serious even in individual cases” and “make researching the facts or determining the whereabouts of the accused significantly difficult or frustrating in any case” Other way”. Otherwise, only future location information will be collected, but then in real time. Freezing of traffic data should also be allowed if “certain facts give rise to suspicion that someone, the perpetrator or partner In the form, an offense has been committed by using telecommunications” and there is no other investigative approach.
In similar circumstances, usage data related to the content of the communication must also be collected. BMJ does not believe that additional rules for login traps, i.e. the collection of the current IP address the next time a telemedia service is used, are necessary to identify the user. Collection of IP addresses on telemedia platforms is already mentioned in Section 100k of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Storage period up to three months
According to the plan, the frozen data would be made available to law enforcement officials for a limited time for later collection and analysis, which would require a new court order (“thaw”). Investigators should initially have a month to do this. The deadline can be extended twice more, each time for a maximum of one month. Transmission powers and specifications for state-of-the-art technical and organizational protective measures are to be included in the Telecommunications Act (TKG). There are still blank spots in the draft regarding the economy and the cost of officials.
The BMJ points out that a new version of general and indiscriminate data retention of all traffic data is already not legally possible due to Supreme Court requirements. Alternatively, after years of controversy over unnecessary logging of user traces, prosecutors are offered “a tool that protects fundamental rights as well as being effective”. Nevertheless, the paragraphs on data retention, which are still included in the STPO, will not be removed from the law at the request of the SPD. But this is a “dead law”.
Debate about Doubt-independent IP address storage
Despite the government agreement and the corresponding coalition agreement, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Feser (SPD) is insisting on at least storing IP addresses in reserve. The SPD parliamentary group wants to examine such a move “with an open mind.” Buschmann explains: Given the current case law of the European Court of Justice, a Member State that wishes to impose such an obligation on operators of electronic communications services must ensure that any precise conclusions regarding the private life of those affected Could not be taken out.
The BMJ argues that the duration of the relevant legal regulation should be limited to “what is absolutely necessary”. Affected people must have effective guarantees to protect them from the risk of abuse. According to police crime statistics for 2023, law enforcement officials managed to solve 87.2 percent of known cases of “distribution of child pornography material”.
(mho)
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