NGOs Warn of Security Risks Due to Planned Monitoring of Threats
The law is to be passed during the National Council's final session from Wednesday to Friday. The over 40 signatories - including data protection organizations like epicenter.works, as well as Greenpeace and the Catholic Action - are appealing to vote against the law. It is a "historic setback for general security."
Threat Surveillance: Lack of Independent Control Criticized
The letter particularly criticizes the lack of independent control, as according to the current draft, the Ministry of the Interior would "control itself." Additionally, targeted surveillance of messenger services is technically not possible without attacking the entire device. As a result, "the state itself becomes a hacker, security vulnerabilities remain intentionally open - with consequences for all users, from critical infrastructures to private households." In other countries, this has already resulted in hospitals, trains, and mobile networks being paralyzed.
Journalists, activists, scientists, and opposition forces are particularly threatened. In Spain, for example, the secret service used the spyware "Pegasus" to monitor the mobile phones of Catalan independence supporters, journalists, activists, and even government members. In Greece, the so-called "Predatorgate" scandal involved systematic surveillance of politicians and journalists. In Poland, "Pegasus" was used against almost 600 people, including opposition members and lawyers. "These incidents exemplify how quickly the use of such surveillance technologies undermines democratic structures," the letter states.
Voting Behavior Unclear
Messenger surveillance made it into the government program as a demand of the ÖVP. After coalition disagreements about its constitutionality - particularly the NEOS had doubts - a draft law was ultimately agreed upon. It remains open whether the governing parties will unanimously approve it in the National Council - as NEOS representatives Stephanie Krisper and Nikolaus Scherak announced their intention to vote against it. With the letter, signed by organizations from, among others, Turkey, the USA, and Ukraine, the NGOs hope to win over more of the 183 deputies for their cause.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.