Proposals backed by the Union and the Social Democrats (SPD) aim to grant the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) the ability to covertly enter residences within Germany. This intention stems from an amendment submitted by the coalition factions during the planned reform of intelligence law, as reported by Politico.
Under the proposed changes, the BND would be authorized to enter apartments either to prepare or to conduct intelligence operations. However, strict safeguard measures remain in place for both German residences and the properties of German citizens abroad: the BND must provide an explicit directive, and the operation must receive prior review from the Independent Control Council.
Furthermore, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) would gain expanded investigative powers, allowing it to examine structures related to organized crime when concrete evidence points to supporting involvement by observed actors. According to the Union and SPD, this expansion is necessary due to increasing reliance on so-called low-level agents and “Crime-as-a-Service” schemes utilized by state or extremist actors.
In addition to access to physical premises, both BND and BfV are set to receive a new instrument regarding digital communications data. They would be able to order telecommunications providers to temporarily store existing traffic data. This temporary storage would be permissible if there is concrete evidence suggesting the data could be relevant to the agency’s work, even if the full legal criteria for mandated storage have not yet been met.
It is important to note that the intelligence agencies cannot automatically access this frozen data; they must initiate a separate request for information. For the BND specifically, the period during which the data can be held is legally limited to a maximum of three months.
