Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider, the Federal Data Protection Commissioner, has voiced serious concerns regarding the ruling coalition’s proposal to amend the Freedom of Information Act (IFG). Speaking to dts Nachrichtenagentur in Berlin on Thursday, she noted that while the coalition cabinet stated its intention to adapt the IFG to current challenges, it has not clearly delineated what these specific challenges are or what precise problems it sees within the existing legislation.
Specht-Riemenschneider highlighted that her recent nationwide survey showed that 96 percent of respondents consider government transparency and accountability to be highly important. She warned that some of the proposed adjustments by the coalition carry such significant implications that they could essentially amount to abolishing the right to information that has existed for twenty years.
A core principle of the current law is relatively unrestricted access to official information. The Commissioner strongly opposed changes that would require applicants to demonstrate a “legitimate interest” to access data. She insisted that the burden should remain on the state to prove, on a case-by-case basis, that transparency conflicts with the public interest.
Furthermore, the planned restriction of information access to German citizens and EU residents alone was deemed highly discriminatory, according to her view, affecting both residents and expatriate voters. Specht-Riemenschneider also argued that requiring extensive documentation for every simple information request would dramatically increase administrative workload for agencies-a result that would undermine the intended bureaucratic streamlining.
The planned introduction of a “cost coverage principle” was also vehemently criticized. The Commissioner argued that this provision would disproportionately favor applicants with financial resources, leading to an “undemocratic two-tier freedom of information.” This principle should be reconsidered, especially since the previous cost for IFG inquiries was capped at €500.
The coalition government decided on Wednesday to restructure the IFG, a move that has already triggered wide criticism from journalists and various associations, with the head of the DJV, Hendrik Zörner, stating that the coalition was “throwing aside the freedom of information.” Although the coalition’s decision stipulated that changes must be made “in coordination with the BfDI,” Specht-Riemenschneider is already facing retirement due to health reasons. The stance of her successor, Moritz Hennemann, regarding the Freedom of Information Act remains unclear, as he has declined to comment prior to his official start date on October 1st.
