CCC vs. Dam Break: Government Must Save the Right to Anonymous Internet Use

The years-long efforts of the Federal Ministry of the Interior to comprehensively record all internet users have overcome a crucial hurdle: With the consent of Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD), Germany faces the threat of mandatory, suspicionless logging of user data once again. According to the Chaos Computer Club (CCC), this would permanently worsen the digital lives of citizens. The hacker association therefore urgently calls on the federal government to defend the right to anonymous internet use as a cornerstone of democracy and to stop the disproportionate mandatory storage of IP addresses.

According to the CCC, the main problem with the measure, which Hubig is pushing forward with her draft bill, is its lack of differentiation. Without specific suspicion or cause, the communication data of every single person would be stored. The CCC warns that the storage of IP addresses in combination with port numbers and other user identifiers enables the creation of highly sensitive personal profiles.

In an era where the internet is the central medium for personal development, these datasets would not only allow private inclinations to be deduced, the hackers criticize. Political leanings, health data, or religious beliefs could also be automatically reconstructed by the authorities. The principle of data minimization would thus be hollowed out and replaced by a permanent surveillance architecture.

Right to Self-Determination is Not a Footnote

The CCC also critically assesses the claim that data retention serves security. In reality, the security gain is disproportionately small compared to the massive risks. Such a data dump creates new dangers of misuse and particularly threatens those who rely on anonymity. This applies, for example, to whistleblowers, journalists, or people seeking help from anonymous counseling services. Providers no longer need this data for their normal billing. This illustrates that the minister wants to artificially create new datasets for state access. Hubig recently said that users could remain anonymous even if the state ordered indiscriminate data collection.

The CCC emphasizes that there are already milder and more fundamental rights-friendly means available. Access providers can already be instructed to store IP assignments specifically and on a case-by-case basis ("Quick Freeze") if there are concrete indications. In contrast, suspicionless storage misuses a ruling by the European Court of Justice as a gateway. A surveillance system that goes far beyond the permissible scope is to be established. The CCC sees the danger of a domino effect: once the infrastructure for mass storage is established, other data types and even communication content will soon follow.

Clear Stance Against the EU Too

The association's resistance is directed not only against national efforts by the Interior and Justice Ministries but also against plans at the European level. A majority of EU states want to enforce even more extensive collections of connection data with significantly longer retention periods. The German government must take a clear stance here and reject such steps, the hackers demand. The right to informational self-determination must not be a mere footnote in investigators' wish lists. Politicians must actively defend it against "surveillance believers."

"The EU Commission, the federal government, and civil society are concerned – rightly so! – about the trustworthiness of our digital infrastructures," Linus Neumann, spokesperson for the CCC, told heise online. "It is almost absurd how, at the same time, this very trustworthiness is actively attacked through extreme surveillance plans."

(vbr)