Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) stressed that European interests must be considered when selecting software for data analysis by German security agencies. Speaking to the Funke Media Group, Dobrindt stated that while “which product is ultimately deployed is open from today’s perspective” Germany has a significant interest in achieving technological sovereignty within Europe, and this goal is part of the selection process.
The ongoing debate in Germany concerns whether domestic authorities should utilize software from the US company Palantir for analyzing large volumes of data. Palantir has faced criticism, partly due to its reported closeness to the government of U.S. President Donald Trump. Dobrindt clarified that he is not participating in a debate about individual companies or their products. Instead, his focus is ensuring that modern data analyses can safeguard security, relieving the strain on security apparatus and leading to faster, better results in combating threats.
The Interior Minister declined to confirm reports suggesting that the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) had rejected Palantir and would instead adopt the software ArgonOS from the French company ChapsVision. “It is the core function of intelligence services that they operate secretly, so I cannot comment on that” Dobrindt said. However, he added that Germany is creating the legal framework necessary to automatically analyze vast amounts of data. “For that, we need corresponding software programs and Artificial Intelligence” the CSU politician noted, concluding, “but we are proceeding in a technology-open manner”.
