Illegal — but the police couldn't care less

In the article linked below, Netzpolitik.org reports how police and customs officials regularly monitor messaging communications on WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal — and they do so entirely without using government-issued malware. The article describes this practice using the example of a family in which the parents were questioned as witnesses and asked to “hand over their cell phones just for a moment to take screenshots.” In doing so, the officers gained access to the suspect’s daughter’s messaging app.

That was illegal

Netzpolitik.org has published the authorities' instructions on this matter:
a document from the Federal Criminal Police Office that describes this surveillance method,
a classified decision on the permanent implementation of messenger surveillance by customs authorities.

Total monitoring of all personal messages in a chat, as occurs when an account is cloned, goes beyond what the State Trojan Act permits. And to date, no parliament has ruled on this, nor has any legislature passed a law to that effect. Nevertheless, this procedure is being applied.

And even worse: Even after the Federal Court of Justice ruled in January 2026 that the investigating judge’s legal opinion “is [...] not to be followed,” customs authorities continued to rely on this outdated and invalid legal opinion a month later — on February 20.

Anyone who uses a smartphone or cell phone with the messaging apps mentioned should read the linked article carefully to learn the tricks the authorities use to gain this illegal access. Note, for example: SMS messages are unencrypted and can be intercepted — do not send activation codes or passwords via SMS or accept them.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Read more https://netzpolitik.org/2026/messenger-ueberwachung-immer-mehr-polizei-ueberwacht-messenger-wie-whatsapp/

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