Germany’s federal government has approved a draft law that would significantly expand the operational powers of the country’s two main intelligence agencies.
The Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Verfassungsschutz) would, for the first time since their creation, be authorised to independently take active measures against threats.
Until now, the agencies were primarily limited to gathering intelligence and passing information to police, prosecutors or the Bundeswehr.
Under the proposed reform, they could take action through sabotage, data manipulation and other measures when conventional state instruments are deemed insufficient.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the CSU said Germany was entering a “new era” for its intelligence services and turning them into genuine secret services.
Sabotage and data manipulation
The legislation, jointly prepared by the Interior Ministry and Minister for Special Assignments Nina Warken of the CDU, introduces the category of “active measures”.
These would allow intelligence agencies to act independently when a threat to national security, the lives or health of citizens, or other comparable legal interests cannot otherwise be prevented.
Examples cited by the ministers include placing defective components in deliveries, hacking the IT systems of drone factories or chemical weapons laboratories for sabotage, disabling servers used by state-sponsored hacking or disinformation groups, and deliberately manipulating data to make it unusable to an adversary.
Dobrindt said data manipulation could be necessary if foreign powers obtained German data with the intention of using it against the country.
Warken stressed that the BND would remain primarily an intelligence-gathering service but argued that simply observing a direct threat without intervening could be negligent.
Wider access to devices and data
The proposed reform would also expand the agencies’ technical capabilities.
Access to IT systems could cover devices ranging from smart refrigerators to private phones and laptops.
Collected content could be retained for six months, while metadata could be stored for up to 12 months. Artificial intelligence would also formally become part of intelligence analysis.
The BND would additionally be allowed to continue monitoring a person for up to 72 hours after they enter German territory, closing a gap that previously required surveillance by the foreign intelligence service to end at the border.
Information-sharing channels with the Bundeswehr would also be strengthened.
Verfassungsschutz receives broad powers
The Verfassungsschutz would receive some of the most extensive new authorities.
These would include online searches aimed at identifying attack plans and measures allowing officials to disrupt or neutralise methods used to commit crimes.
The powers could include secretly disarming, replacing or manipulating explosives, as well as targeting individuals and criminal structures.
German officials argue the changes are necessary because foreign intelligence services have sometimes withheld information from German police, leaving the country at a disadvantage.
Dobrindt said the reform would put Germany on a more equal footing with countries such as Britain and France.
Government cites hybrid warfare threat
The government has repeatedly pointed to the range of threats facing Germany, including espionage, sabotage, cyberattacks and covert foreign operations.
Officials described these activities as part of daily hybrid warfare intended to destabilise Germany and trigger political or social change.
The recent discovery of a drone carrying an explosive device over Leipzig Airport was cited as evidence of an emerging phase of hybrid aggression.
BND chief Martin Jäger said Germany needed to demonstrate to its adversaries that it could impose comparable costs.
Critics raise constitutional concerns
The government insists that the constitutional principle separating intelligence services from police remains intact.
Oversight would be consolidated under a new Independent Oversight Council, with powers to request information and issue instructions. Additional reporting requirements are also intended to strengthen parliamentary oversight.
Critics, however, argue that the reforms could weaken existing safeguards.
The Federal Commissioner for Data Protection warned that her office would lose important supervisory powers over the BND and opposed the expanded surveillance authorities.
Critics also questioned the reliability of technical filtering, warning that communications belonging to people not suspected of wrongdoing could be intercepted during bulk telecommunications surveillance.
Technology and telecommunications companies would face stronger obligations to cooperate with the intelligence services, with fines of up to €1 million for non-compliance.
Civil rights groups oppose reforms
Political and civil-society groups have strongly criticised the proposed legislation.
FDP leader Wolfgang Kubicki accused Dobrindt of breaking a historic taboo and warned against the creation of a secret police, predicting possible intervention by the Federal Constitutional Court.
Green Party MP Konstantin von Notz said stronger intelligence powers were necessary in principle but argued that the proposed powers, particularly those given to the Verfassungsschutz, go too far.
The civil-rights organisation Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte called for a thorough review of the more than 700-page draft and argued that several provisions could be unconstitutional.
Left Party domestic policy expert Clara Bünger also warned that sabotage powers, operational interventions and state-backed hacking could create the foundations for a new German secret police.
The Association of the Internet Industry, meanwhile, warned that the state should not develop an interest in keeping security vulnerabilities open for its own access.
Law could take effect in 2027
The bill is scheduled to enter into force on 1 January 2027, provided it passes parliamentary proceedings and any subsequent judicial review.
With the governing CDU, CSU and SPD majority, its passage through the Bundestag is widely expected.
Whether the Federal Constitutional Court ultimately considers the expanded German intelligence powers compatible with fundamental rights remains an open question.
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