20150209 Bericht über Grundrechtsverletzungen

09.02.2015 Bericht über Grundrechtsverletzungen

Aktion Freiheit statt Angst answers FRA Questionnaire

As a member of the Fundamental Rights Platform of the EU we were asked to report violations of fundamental rights in Germany. Here we document our report:

Berlin, February 9th 2015

About us

Aktion Freiheit statt Angst (Freedom Not Fear) is a platform that will coordinate the peaceful protest for a free democratic society and against mass surveillance, data retention and uncontrolled endless expansion of the "security sector". We support the dialogue between society, associations and politics in relation to security and surveillance legislation.

Our main objectives in the last years were

the fight against the EU data retention directive and the German data retention law
education about futility of Internet censorship, and the prevention of the German Zugangserschwerungsgesetz (make access difficult law) in 2010
education about the dangers of biometric data in security systems (RFID chips, keys, ...), and petitions to this subject to EU and German authorties
the fight against EU-US and EU-Canada PNR-System (Passenger name records), and plans to build their own EU PNR database

Links to our work on these topics:

Questionnaire

1. According to your direct experience, what are the major violations of fundamental rights in your country and in the EU?

The violation of fundamental rights in the area of the right to liberty and security (Art. 5), the right to respect for private and family life (art. 8), freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Art. 9), freedom of expression (Art. 10) and freedom of association (Art. 11) and non-discrimination (art. 14) arises victims in pluralistic society.

The protection and free movement of the wide range of victims like children and young people, women and man, press and activists as well as whistleblower for example, we see endangered by the current EU-security research and the implementation of technical tracking- and monitoring-systems at/on the society.

Data retention, blocking internet and censorship, collecting and constructing biometric data as well as PNR as main examples are the basic method/technic for the survelliance of the civil society and the victims, which could become part of it.

Our observation has shown that the massive surveillance leads to a restriction of fundamental rights and triggers serious stigmata at the victims.

We recognise the increase of nontypical fear as well as adaption behavior of people. This can be determined by studies and on the basis of communication with these people. https://www.aktion-freiheitstattangst.org/de/articles/1608-20101008-vorratsspeicherung-gefaehrdet-menschenleben.htm

They feel increasingly persecuted and not protected. They feel vulnerable and powerless with respect to technical systems of survelliance. The mandatory biometric collection as well as the continuous extension of these method results in a loss of control over one's own body. In this form of civil society survelliance, we see a huge violation of fundamental rights within the EU and Germany.

2. In particular, could you outline your experience - if any - on the impact of austerity measures, corruption, the activities of organised crime as well as discrimination on violations of fundamental rights?

To the topics we mentioned above we see a permanent/repeated violation of fundamental rights.

Our basic rights are violated by the actions described above. Civil rights groups, as ourselves, clear up about those violation of the fundamental rights. Normally there is no response in the policy. Only after the legislation of this law may be challenged at courts and after many years lawsuit is granted.

This was the case with

the German Data Retention law (BVerfG, March 2nd 2010) https://www.aktion-freiheitstattangst.org/de/articles/1144-20100302-news-sammlung-zum-urteil-zur-vorratsdatenspeicherung-ein-phyrhussieg.htm
the EU Data retention directive (EuGH, April 8th 2014) https://www.aktion-freiheitstattangst.org/de/articles/4271-20140408-eugh-verwirft-vorratsdatenspeicherung.htm
the eavesdropping law (BKA law, March 1998) (BverfG, March 3rd 2004) (BKA amendment, Nov 2008) https://www.aktion-freiheitstattangst.org/de/articles/1201-bka-gesetz-grosser-lauschangriff.htm and https://www.aktion-freiheitstattangst.org/de/articles/871-bka-gesetz.htm
online searches of private computers (in the BKA amendment) https://www.aktion-freiheitstattangst.org/de/articles/1348-20100526-bka-bundestrojaner-ist-einsetzbar.htm
the law for internet blocking (Zugangserschwerungsgesetz)
(law conflicts with fundamental rights, June 16th 2009) https://www.aktion-freiheitstattangst.org/de/articles/346-20090619-zugangserschwerungsgesetz-formell-verfassungswidrig.htm
(withdrawal of the law, April 7th 2011) https://www.aktion-freiheitstattangst.org/de/articles/869-zugangserschwerungsgesetz.htm

After the successful verdict, however, new laws with similar actions/measurements in slightly modified versions were issued again and again, so a new lawsuit must be brought against it. EU Commission: "vote until the result fits", s. https://www.aktion-freiheitstattangst.org/de/articles/3648-20130605-eu-will-neue-flugreisedaten-abstimmung.htm

This not only causes immense costs, but also undermines the confidence in the German and EU policy and legislation. For those measures the policy arguments are based exclusively using the threat of terrorism. A terrorist threat of such extent can not be observed within the EU and Germany .

Some other individual cases of violations of fundamental rights that have been reported to us:

3 years of date retention of all registration of public meetings (in Berlin) https://www.aktion-freiheitstattangst.org/de/articles/4203-20140304-polizei-speichert-daten-von-demo-anmeldern.htm
Forwarding of the registration data of public meetings to LKS (state police), VS (security service for der interior), a.o. https://www.aktion-freiheitstattangst.org/de/articles/4692-20141221-demobeobachtung-an-verfassungsschutz.htm
Video surveillance of public meetings lead to quenching (so-called plain films, Berlin https://www.aktion-freiheitstattangst.org/events/878-20130311.htm
Assembly ban for major events (Demostration at the EZB Frankfurt/M) https://www.aktion-freiheitstattangst.org/events/755-20121010.htm

To your point austerity measures:
Savings of personnel by the use of expensive and faulty technical surveillance systems

Research in the area of safety technology, serving the surveillance of the population is financed by the EU. The results of this research, complex systems-techniques and algorithms, but the results may not be used in Germany because of their illegality concerning civil rights.
http://www.aktion-freiheitstattangst.org/de/articles/3241-20121120-themenabend-ueberwachung-durch-indect.htm
http://www.indect-project.eu/approach-to-ethical-issues

To your point corruption:
Data theft at German railway and German telecom by organized crime

Increasing data theft by organized crime were prosecuted but can not avoided completly up to 100% due to failures of the technical systems. Central storage of data always lead to greater risk of data. The safety of data is more difficult the more central it is stored.
https://www.aktion-freiheitstattangst.org/de/articles/838-20091206-telekom-prueft-aenderung-von-millionen-kundennummern.htm
https://www.aktion-freiheitstattangst.org/de/articles/677-20091014-neue-datenpanne-bei-der-deutschen-telekom.htm
https://www.aktion-freiheitstattangst.org/de/articles/70-20081217-festnahme-nach-telekom-spitzelaffaere.htm

We are sorry but most of our web pages are available in German only … but we are working on this topic, too - help is needed!