Germans take their privacy seriously and have coined a term—gläserner Bürger, or “the glass citizen”—to describe a dystopic future in which Germans are surveilled around the clock. The news that that Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), Germany’s version of the FBI, is testing software by a controversial surveillance firm is sure to raise the glass citizen image yet again.
A leaked document (PDF in German) from the German ministry of the interior, which was published on Wednesday by netzpolitik.org, reveals that BKA has acquired software from Gamma Group for monitoring computer and internet use in “case it will be necessary to use.” BKA has also been working on its own surveillance software, which it expects to finish in 2014, according to the document.
sponsored
Event: Digital Government Success: Meeting the Call for 21st Century Government
Research Report: Powering Continuous Monitoring Through Big Data
Performance Analytics: What It Means for Your Agency
What Big Data Means for TSA & Airport Security
JOIN THE DISCUSSION
By using this service you agree not to post material that is obscene, harassing, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable. Although Nextgov does not monitor comments posted to this site (and has no obligation to), it reserves the right to delete, edit, or move any material that it deems to be in violation of this rule.