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DW
02-08-2025
- Politics
- DW
German police expands use of Palantir surveillance software – DW – 08/02/2025
Police and spy agencies are keen to combat criminality and terrorism with artificial intelligence. But critics say the CIA-funded Palantir surveillance software enables "predictive policing." The surveillance software called Gotham, developed by US company Palantir, is billed as an all-rounder: gigantic amounts of data are brought together at lightning speed. It only takes a few seconds to satisfy a police officer's curiosity: name, age, address, fines, criminal record. In combination with selected cellphones and the contents of scanned social media channels, a comprehensive profile of any person appears in an instant. With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), the surveillance program developed by the US technology company seems to make the dreams of police and intelligence agencies come true. Three of Germany's 16 federal states are already using Gotham: Bavaria, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg is planning to implement it soon. However, according to privacy advocates and civil rights organizations, it come with a big problem: Along with those suspected of a crime, it can also ensnare innocent people. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The German nonprofit group Society for Civil Rights (GFF) is fundamentally opposed to the use of programs like Palantir. That's why it has lodged a constitutional complaint against the large-scale data analysis in Bavaria. "Anyone who files a complaint, or who is a victim of a crime, or even just happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time can attract police attention via this software," said GFF lawyer Franziska Görlitz. According to the Berlin-based organization, such unlimited analysis of data breaches the fundamental right to informational self-determination and the confidentiality of telecommunications, which is guaranteed in the German constitution. Whoever shows up on the police radar via this so-called data mining knows nothing about it. According to current law, police in Bavaria may use the Palantir software even when there is no indication of danger. In doing so, they are ignoring standards which apply in neighboring Hesse following a successful constitutional complaint by the GFF in 2023. The Federal Constitutional Court is yet to rule on a similar complaint against the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The hacker association Chaos Computer Club supports the constitutional complaint against Bavaria. Its spokesperson, Constanze Kurz, spoke of a "Palantir dragnet investigation" in which police were linking separately stored data for very different purposes than those originally intended. "This is reason enough for this automated mass analysis not to become an everyday tool for police. But the collated data also lands in the deliberately opaque software of the US company Palantir, which the police will become dependent on for years," said Kurz. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The software company owned by US billionaire Peter Thiel made its software available to Bavaria in 2024; in Hesse, it has already been in use since 2017. The entrepreneur with German roots and New Zealand citizenship has a reputation for pursuing authoritarian goals and maintaining close contact with President Donald Trump and his political circle. US intelligence agencies and the military have long worked with the Gotham program. In Germany, the Palantir software goes by various names such as HessenData, or VeRA in Bavaria — an acronym for "overlapping systems research and analysis platform." According to German newspaper and public service broadcasters NDR and WDR, police had already used VeRA in about 100 cases by May 2025. One of these was the attack on the Israeli consulate in Munich in September 2024. The deputy chairman of the Police Union, Alexander Poitz, explained that automated data analysis made it possible to identify certain perpetrators' movements and provide officers with accurate conclusions about their planned actions. "That is how the Munich police were able to take control of the situation relatively quickly and bring it to a conclusion," Poitz told public broadcaster MDR. The broadcaster reported that the US company had been granted unlimited access to the data files of the Bavarian police to merge the systems. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The computer source code is stored on servers in Germany. However, critics point out that there is no guarantee against copies finding their way to the US, according to the media outlets. The obvious and growing dependence on foreign technology giants such as Palantir contradicts Germany's stated aspirations. The new government, comprising the center-right Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), wrote "digital policy is power politics" in its coalition agreement earlier this year, stating its goals: "We want a digitally sovereign Germany. To do this, we will dismantle digital dependencies by developing key technologies, securing standards, protecting and expanding digital infrastructure. We will achieve resilient value chains for key industries which are integrated at the European level, from raw materials to chips to hardware and software." Despite this, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) seems to be keeping his options open, having so far refused to rule out purchasing Palantir software for the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Federal Police. Dobrindt is breaking with the line of his predecessor Nancy Faeser (SPD), who had rejected the use of these programs in 2023. The GFF's constitutional complaint against the use of Palantir appears to have strong public support. On German online petition platform Campact, an appeal for politicians to stop the use of the software in Germany was signed by more than 264,000 people within a week, as of July you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.
Reuters
05-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
German activists sue X demanding election influence data
BERLIN, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Activist groups have sued Elon Musk's social media platform X in a Berlin court, accusing it of breaking European law by not giving them the information they need to track disinformation online ahead of Germany's Feb. 23 national election. The two groups - the Society for Civil Rights (GFF) and Democracy Reporting International - said X was not providing systematic access to data like the reach of posts and the number of likes and shares they got. "Other platforms have granted us access to systematically track public debates on their platforms, but X has refused to do so," said DRI's Michael Meyer-Resende in a statement on Wednesday, announcing the lawsuit. The groups say they have the right to receive this data under the terms of the European Union's Digital Services Act. X did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Authorities throughout Europe have been on high alert for evidence of systematic online disinformation or operations seeking to sway elections, especially since last year's later annulled presidential election in Romania, where a pro-Russian candidate won a shock first-round victory after what authorities said was a Russian-steered social media campaign. Moscow denied interference. In the case of X, still used by much of the German government and political class despite some recent departures, the question is lent added urgency by Musk's recent endorsement of the German far right. "Platforms are increasingly being weaponised against democratic elections," added GFF's Simone Ruf. "We must defend ourselves." Since his takeover of the former Twitter, Musk has shut down most of the access routes by which researchers were in the past able to track the spread of information on the platform, converting that access into a charged-for service. The world's richest person, now leading U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to slim and purge the U.S. federal government, hosted the far-right Alternative for Germany's leader Alice Weidel for an interview on X in January, posting: "Only the AfD can save Germany!"
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
German activists sue X demanding election influence data
By Thomas Escritt BERLIN (Reuters) - Activist groups have sued Elon Musk's social media platform X in a Berlin court, accusing it of breaking European law by not giving them the information they need to track disinformation online ahead of Germany's Feb. 23 national election. The two groups - the Society for Civil Rights (GFF) and Democracy Reporting International - said X was not providing systematic access to data like the reach of posts and the number of likes and shares they got. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. "Other platforms have granted us access to systematically track public debates on their platforms, but X has refused to do so," said DRI's Michael Meyer-Resende in a statement on Wednesday, announcing the lawsuit. The groups say they have the right to receive this data under the terms of the European Union's Digital Services Act. X did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Authorities throughout Europe have been on high alert for evidence of systematic online disinformation or operations seeking to sway elections, especially since last year's later annulled presidential election in Romania, where a pro-Russian candidate won a shock first-round victory after what authorities said was a Russian-steered social media campaign. Moscow denied interference. In the case of X, still used by much of the German government and political class despite some recent departures, the question is lent added urgency by Musk's recent endorsement of the German far right. "Platforms are increasingly being weaponised against democratic elections," added GFF's Simone Ruf. "We must defend ourselves." Since his takeover of the former Twitter, Musk has shut down most of the access routes by which researchers were in the past able to track the spread of information on the platform, converting that access into a charged-for service. The world's richest person, now leading U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to slim and purge the U.S. federal government, hosted the far-right Alternative for Germany's leader Alice Weidel for an interview on X in January, posting: "Only the AfD can save Germany!"
