Germany Resorts to Mass Wire-Tapping

In an attempt to combat crime and terrorism more effectively, German federal and state Home Secretaries held a conference where they agreed that stricter measures need to be taken against crime – by making sure that all online messaging services can be surveilled by authorities.

With terrorists actively using apps like WhatsApp and Telegram to communicate, law enforcement officials aren't content with not being able to surveil the online activity of all citizens. Phones and phone messages can already be viewed by authorities, yet companies like Apple and WhatsApp refuse to let them read whatever specific individuals post on their messaging apps.

But that will not stop them. German wiretapping officials are working on new software that, if installed on a phone, would allow them to read messages before they're even sent. However, as the software would work much like a malicious trojan, antivirus programs would eventually be able to render it harmless.

Whatever the method, German ministers and secretaries agree that law enforcement needs to be able to technically and legally access any online messaging content shared by any citizen.

Following the online surveillance measures, general improvements in organized police operations are also being pursued, in response to the rising number of terrorist attacks in Europe and all over the world. German authorities want a consistent nationwide security standard. Also, in response to the increasing number of attacks carried out by underage terrorists, the fingerprints of asylum seekers between the ages of six and fourteen will be registered from now on in order to detect fake identities in the future.

The German National Association of Police Organizations reacted to these statements negatively. In order to enact the new measures as described and fight terror effectively, they stated that more than 70,000 additional police officers and law enforcement specialists would be needed.

By enforcing an open-borders policy, it looks like German authorities created the very problem they are now trying to solve by curtailing the freedoms and privacy of law-abiding German citizens.