Germany de.indymedia
Intelligence reform: This is not security
The BND and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution will have more powers in the future. But that’s not enough to make us safer – quite the opposite. A comment.
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The BND and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution will have more powers in the future. But that’s not enough to make us safer – quite the opposite. A comment.
Germany has new intelligence laws, the Bundestag passed the huge reform for the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the BNDhttps://www.bundestag.de/parlament/plenum/abstimm/abstimm/?id=1045...from the Union and the SPD. For Alexander Dobrindt it is a “reform of the century”. “We need to strengthen democracy against those who attack this democracy – from within and without,” said the CSU Interior Minister in his speech in parliament. And that's where our similarities end.
I could do it again nowhttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/geheimdienstreform-zeitenwende-fuer-spione/...choose, what about the new regulationhttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/anhoerung-zur-geheimdienstreform-ich-habe-n...is: That it is a break with the requirement of separation - a lesson from the Nazi era that is intended to prevent further secret police in Germany. That this is historical and dangerous, especially at a moment when right-wing extremists are closer to power than ever before in the Federal Republic. That the services are given operational powers and can hack back. That journalists are not adequately protected from surveillance. That control is too lax and many regulations are vague. That some of the reform would probably not stand up in front of the Constitutional Court. And then?
“Of course” we do it that way, Dobrindt would probably sayhttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/aerzte-aktivistinnen-und-internetnutzer-die...say something about the criticism of the expansions. “Our intelligence services protect us from these enemies, so we strengthen them.” The Office for the Protection of the Constitution is democracy protection for the minister. He speaks of a “shadow war that threatens our freedom.”
The tenor: We must allow the secret services to do everything that is possible (or probably no longer possible in accordance with the constitution). For our safety. Because it goes above and beyond. Who would dare to contradict that?
Secret services will not save us
I find this argument fatal. And we must not make the mistake of letting ourselves be overwhelmed by it. We have to say: Yes, our freedom is being threatened. From those who release their explosive drones at airports. Coordinate disinformation campaigns to manipulate sentiment. Use the disposable agents tohttps://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/bauschaum-attacken-mutmas...to bring lies into the worldand spy. From right-wing extremists who are just waiting to realize their authoritarian fever dreams. That's true and anyone who denies it is putting very real problems into perspective.
But at the same time we have to recognize that the German secret services alone will not save us from this. Our freedom requires security. But not the security that the Dobrindts of this country think.
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Uncertainty is uncertainty
https://www.boeckler.de/de/pressemitigungen-2675-debatte-ueber-socialr...Percent of adults in Germanyare afraid. Because they are worried about their financial security. The Merz government's so-called social reforms are unsettling people. And that endangers democracy. Because fear is thathttps://www.diw.de/de/diw_01.c.1009375.de/nachrichten/wenn_angst_die_dem...Breeding ground for authoritarian promises. But none of this appears in Dobrindt's supposed protection of democracy.
We must no longer allow ourselves to be blinded by an alleged security policy that only looks for solutions from the secret services and police. That claims to defend our freedom by dismantling it. We must start demanding more security. Real security that starts with our livelihoods - and not just with a threat.
Because that's too late. The BND may be able to protect the safety of soldiers in Lithuania. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution can warn companies that are being spied on. But even powerful spies are of no help against a society that is insecure at its core.
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