Germany drafts law to expand intelligence surveillance

Germany is drafting comprehensive legislation to significantly expand the surveillance and hacking authorities of its Federal Intelligence Service, aiming to reduce reliance on U.S. intelligence and align its capabilities with European peers like the UK and France, Cybernews reports.

The proposed law would grant the BND new powers for full-content interception of communications, allow data retention for up to six months, and authorize offensive hacking operations against foreign technology providers if they refuse to cooperate with data requests. This "hack foreign providers" clause is expected to increase friction with major U.S. platforms such as Google, Meta, and X.

Additionally, the BND's mandate would broaden to surveil foreign nationals within Germany suspected of espionage or terrorism, and to use intrusive tools like a "federal trojan" on devices, powers previously reserved for law enforcement. The 139-page draft represents a near-doubling of the agency's current remit, extending its reach to include monitoring journalists affiliated with foreign state-linked media.