At first glance, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser's proposal is reminiscent of a method practiced by the "the Stasi," the Ministry for State Security of the former communist East Germany, whose secret police infiltrated the homes of suspected regime opponents in order to tap their phones.
The practice stopped with the end of the East German dictatorship (GDR) and German reunification in 1990.
Now, in the face of Islamist and right-wing extremist terrorist threats, Faeser wants to empower investigators to use the method once again. However, unlike the Stasi's arbitrary actions in communist East Germany, the German parliament must first give its approval.
The Interior Minister is proposing to allow the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) to enter terrorism suspects' homes in order to install spy software on their smartphones and computers.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Following the recent knife attack by a Syrian Islamist in Solingen, a spokesman for Faeser justified the plan at a government press conference, especially for cases of Islamist terrorism. "In this context, we believe it is completely self-evident that security authorities must have........