German Court Rules Police Use of Crime-Fighting Software is Unlawful

Police use of automated data analysis to prevent crime in some German states was unconstitutional, a top German court said on Thursday, ruling in favour of critics of software provided by the CIA-backed Palantir. From a report: Provisions regulating the use of the technology in Hesse and Hamburg violate the right to informational self-determination, a statement from the constitutional court said. Hesse has been given a Sept. 30 deadline to rewrite its provisions, while legislation in Hamburg -- where the technology was not yet in use -- was nullified. "Given the particularly broad wording of the powers, in terms of both the data and the methods concerned, the grounds for interference fall far short of the constitutionally required threshold of an identifiable danger," the court said. However, court president Stephan Harbarth said states had the option "of shaping the legal basis for further processing of stored data files in a constitutional manner."

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