The Federal Data Protection Commissioner, Moritz Hennemann, is opposing the current plans by the Federal Government to restrict the Information Freedom Act (IFG). His spokesman, Philipp Wilhelmstrop, told the dts Nachrichtenagentur that the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Information (BfDI) sees no specific reason to abolish the right of access for non-natural persons.
Wilhelmstrop argued that requiring parties to demonstrate “legitimate interests” would fundamentally reverse the normal principle of presumed access. Furthermore, he stated that such a new regulation would likely force obligated agencies into “considerable examination efforts,” which would not ease the burden on authorities but instead make it harder for the public to access state information.
While the Commissioner is not fundamentally opposed to IFG reforms, he cautioned that the proposals currently being put forward could potentially lead to a sweeping restriction on the federal freedom of information, which has been established for the past two decades. Instead, the BfDI advocates for creating more proactive disclosure obligations for government agencies, seeing this as a way to align with the coalition’s broader goal of promoting the digitalization and modernization of administration-fostering a culture of data sharing and utilization.
The BfDI’s Bonn-based office confirmed that discussions regarding the planned IFG reform have already taken place with the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Its spokesman added that the BfDI’s initial priority is to develop a joint understanding of the current situation with the ministry.
The government coalition, composed of the Union and the SPD, introduced its specific proposals for a comprehensive redesign of the IFG in early July, which drew sharp reactions from civil liberties advocates and journalists. The official document states that the government aims to narrow the scope of access rights, focusing them on natural persons who possess a legitimate interest in receiving the information and who cannot obtain it through other regulatory means.
The coalition also plans to eliminate the current fee cap of €500 for access requests. Instead, the IFG fees will be adjusted in line with a cost-coverage principle. However, the coalition’s resolution stipulated that these planned changes must be implemented in coordination with the BfDI.
