Internet providers should help combat Crime on the Internet Save IP addresses for three months in the future. Federal Minister of Justice Stefanie Hubig (SPD) presented a corresponding draft law. “When it comes to child pornography, online fraud and criminal hatred on the internet, the following applies: perpetrators get away with it far too often. We want to change that,” the draft says. A report from the Picture on Sunday According to the draft law, it was sent to the other ministries for a vote on Friday.
As a precautionary measure, Internet providers should store which Internet connection an IP address was assigned to at a questionable time, according to the Ministry of Justice. In addition, other data that is necessary to clearly assign the IP address to a connection owner should also be stored.
IP addresses are often the only traces that perpetrators leave behind in the digital space, said Hubig Picture on Sunday. IP address storage can therefore be of crucial help to investigators. “It ensures that digital traces can still be followed later if this is necessary to solve a crime,” said Hubig.
Greens in the Bundestag consider the plans to be illegal
The Data retention has long been controversial. critic fear an erosion of fundamental rights. The Greens in the Bundestag also reject the plans to store IP addresses. “The Union and the SPD are obviously planning to return to mass surveillance on the Internet without cause,” said the legal policy spokesman for the Green parliamentary group, Helge Limburg star. All previous attempts to introduce comprehensive data retention for no reason had been overturned by the Federal Constitutional Court and the European Court of Justice, he said and called for effective alternatives.
Hubig defended the plans. The bill creates an effective solution that at the same time preserves freedom online, she said. The confidentiality of communications is strictly maintained. Movement and personality profiles are excluded, it said.
Storage of IP addresses is part of the coalition agreement
The Union and the SPD had already agreed in the coalition agreement to oblige telecommunications providers to store IP addresses for three months. The previous regulation on data retention had not been used since 2017 due to legal uncertainties. The traffic light government had also considered new regulations. However, the project failed because the coalition partners could not come to an agreement; the FDP in particular was against an obligation to store IP addresses.
According to the Federal Criminal Police Office’s situation report, 16,354 cases of child abuse and 1,191 cases of sexual violence against young people were registered last year.
