Data retention is a critical issue for every data protection advocate.
The German government is now planning to extend the list of offenses for which the police are allowed to retrieve data.
In future, it will even be possible to retrieve communication and location data for burglaries.

Expansion of the list of offenses

On May 10, 2017, the German government passed a draft bill to amend the German Criminal Code.
This draft also provides for the expansion of the list of criminal offenses in Section 100g StPO, which regulates the possibility of retrieving retained data.

Retrieval of retained data now also possible in the event of burglary

In addition to particularly serious offenses such as genocide, threats to external security, murder, aggravated robbery and crimes against sexual self-determination, investigators will also be able to access the data in the event of “burglary of a permanently occupied private residence”.

The aim of the law is to make burglary of a permanently used private home a separate criminal offense.
The penalty range would then be between one and ten years.
The expansion of data retention is justified in the draft by the fact that law enforcement authorities need access to location data.
This is the only way to ensure that crimes can be effectively investigated.

Amendment of § 100g StPO for burglaries

Since a “retrograde location data query” is only permitted for certain offenses, Section 100g of the Code of Criminal Procedure must be amended as part of the change in the law.
The evaluation of the location data of cell phones stored for four weeks could make the work of the investigating authorities much easier.

When the law on data retention was passed in 2015, the grand coalition pointed out that access to the data would only be possible in the case of the most serious crimes. Volker Ullrich commented in the Bundestag debate on October 16, 2015 with the words: \”It may only be accessed if it serves to investigate or prevent the most serious and very serious criminal offenses, if it is a matter of averting danger, for example the prevention of terrorist attacks, or of efforts against the existence of the federal or state governments.”

Critics: Draft law means weakening data protection

Data protectionists are critical of the new draft law.
The regulations that were once drawn up are being watered down bit by bit.
Retained data can now be retrieved in more and more cases of less serious crimes.

The future will show whether the current draft is compatible with the Basic Law.
Following the rejection of the urgent applications, the final decision by the judges of the Federal Constitutional Court will provide certainty.