Government surveillance of personal computers would violate the individual right to privacy, Germany's
highest court found Wednesday, in a ruling that German investigators say will restrict their ability to pursue
terrorists.
The Karlsruhe-based Federal Constitutional Court said in a precedent-setting decision that data stored or exchanged on a
personal computer is effectively covered under principles of the constitution that enshrine the right to personal privacy.
"Collecting such data directly encroaches on a citizen's rights, given that fear of being observed ... can prevent
unselfconscious personal communication," presiding judge Hans-Juergen Papier said in his ruling.
While the ruling directly addressed a state law that had widely permitted authorities to monitor criminal suspects'
personal computer use, it also set out the ground rules for a hotly disputed federal law governing secret services' ability
to use virus-like software to monitor suspected terrorists' online activity.
"Given the gravity of the intrusion, the secret infiltration of an IT system in such a way that use of the system and its
data can be searched can only be constitutionally allowed if clear evidence of a concrete threat to a prominent object of
legal protection exists," Papier said.
Authorities would be allowed to spy on suspects' computers using virus software in exceptional cases, according to the
ruling. However, any such action must have the approval of a judge...
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