Berlin police will be permitted to covertly enter private homes to install spyware after the city’s House of Representatives approved sweeping changes to police powers, marking one of the most expansive surveillance reforms in decades. The legislation, backed by the governing CDU-SPD coalition and the opposition AfD, significantly broadens the tools available to law enforcement across both physical and digital domains.
Under the new rules, police may secretly break into a suspect’s residence if remote access to devices is not possible, enabling the installation of spyware on computers and phones. Authorities are now allowed to hack digital devices to monitor communications, and officers may activate their body cameras inside private homes if they believe someone is in immediate danger.
The law also expands surveillance in public spaces. Police can now collect mobile phone data from all individuals in a specific area, use automated license-plate scanning and deploy counter-drone measures. Facial and voice recognition technologies may be used to identify people from surveillance footage, and existing police data can be used to train artificial intelligence systems — a provision that civil rights advocates say could enable profiling and misuse.
Interior Senator Iris Spranger defended the legislation, calling it a necessary modernization. She said the reform provides “a significant plus for the protection of Berliners” and equips police with stronger tools to combat terrorism and organized crime.
The changes come amid rising concern over crime levels in the city. In 2024, Berlin recorded more than 539,000 offenses, an increase from the previous year, with violent crimes — including assault and domestic violence — also rising. Officials have pointed to an uptick in offenses involving young people and migrants in large urban areas, noting that more than half of documented crimes remain unsolved.
Despite government assurances, opposition to the law has intensified. Green Party MP Vasili Franco said the legislation resembles a “wish list for a state with excessive control over its citizens.” Civil liberties groups have condemned the expanded use of AI and biometric surveillance as “a massive attack on civil liberties.”
The NoASOG campaign alliance sharply criticized the reform, arguing that measures presented as security enhancements effectively lay the groundwork for an “authoritarian surveillance state.”
