Joana Cotar
IT Security and Citizens’ Rights
German Bundestag,
December 18, 2019, Plenarprotokoll 19/136, pp. 16972-16973
[Joana Cotar is an Alternative für
Deutschland Bundestag member from the central German state of Hessen. A
communications manager, she is the AfD’s Bundestag spokesman for digital policy.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) was previously head of the Justice Minstry
where Eva Högl is presently state secretary.]
Right honorable Herr President. Worthy
colleagues. Dear audience.
Place before yourselves the following
scenario: The Chinese government issues a law with which it obliges all
internet services to give up on demand the passwords of internet users so that
officials can test whether all are conducting themselves in loyal fashion, –
Florian
Post (SPD): The keyword is called “court order”!
– all naturally for the good of the
country and for the citizens. The wicked can quite quickly be sorted out –
Florian
Post (SPD): Court order!
– and at length the wise are trained
that the possible surrender of passwords is for the Chinese the legitimate
state of affairs and all is ultimately to the good: an upright and obedient
people.
“Typical China” we would say to that,
turning away with dismay, shaking a finger at those responsible and demanding,
“How could you?”
We can in fact shake a finger, ladies
and gentlemen, but not at the Chinese. This insanity is not the plan of the
Middle Kingdom. This insanity is the plan of our own Federal government. It is
our government which wants to establish a surveillance state here in Germany.
It is our government which once again conducts an all-out assault upon the
rights of the citizens.
Eva
Högl (SPD): Something completely different: The AfD for citizens’ rights!
It is our government which wants to conclusively
bury the free internet and freedom of opinion. In line with the ostensible
fight against right-wing extremism and hate crimes, the Federal Justice
Ministry wants to oblige social networks to automatically pass on to the
Federal Criminal Office subsequently culpable posts including the user’s IP
address and port number. The social networks must thus store these for the
future, even where the storage of port numbers exceeds the constitutionally
questionable data retention. Whether the post is culpable or whether the data
of the completely innocent was passed along, that is to be decided later.
Yet even that is not enough for the
Ministry. The security officials will also be assigned the right to force
internet firms like Google, Twitter, Tinder , Facebook, as well as forums and
blogs, to give up the passwords and other highly confidential data of their
customers. The circle of authorized departments which can demand passwords is
thereby expanded and in no way relates only to the officials combating
terrorism, since the surrender of passwords can be ordered not only for
criminal acts but even for those deemed to be disorderly. Even a preventative
surrender for security purposes shall be possible. Ja, even the campaign
against the violations of creators’ rights shall be obliged. Since the law is
also directed against hate on the internet, infractions of opinion will also be
added. Here, the court order is a pure placebo, since it is the rule that
magistrates always consent to such searches.
Eva
Högl (SPD): Yet you have a high regard for magistrates!
Farewell state of law, farewell
private sphere, farewell citizens’ rights. “Inconceivable!”, do you say? Yes,
but for this government it is only a logical next step in the fight against the
free internet.
Eva
Högl (SPD): Madness!
After the NetzDG and upload filters,
now thus the surrender of passwords – the obstinate citizens, still entitled to
their own opinions, will anyhow be few. Since what, dear viewer, do you believe
will happen when you yourself must fear that one of your posts will
consequently lead to the police having your password? Do you still write or do
you forego that? And it is precisely that which is the actual goal of the
government: It shall be left to the citizen that the people are to be further
intimidated.
This government does not want a free
internet. This government does not want mature and critical citizens.
Sebastian
Steineke (CDU/CSU): You do not understand the penal code.
It is no wonder that the renewed assault
upon citizens’ rights, quite in keeping with the tradition of Maas, again comes
from the Justice Ministry, lead by the SPD – from this Ministry we meanwhile
have become accustomed to constitutional ideas of a dubious nature.
And, naturally, all that is happening is
for the good of the citizens. I have already once here said in plenary session:
The curtailment of freedoms would always be sold to the citizens engaged in
politics as a defense in the face of dangers. It is up to us all that we no
longer swallow that, ladies and gentlemen. I find it simply absurd that you
harass the citizens of this state with the Data Defense Basic Regulation
[DSGVO] while you yourselves at the same time wish to secure a grip on people’s
most intimate communications.
Passwords of many on-line services are
submitted only in encrypted form – completely in keeping with the DSGVO. Were
they forced to come up with passwords in clear text, that would be a danger to
IT security for which words can scarcely be found. Yet the Justice Ministry denies
this duty. The boilerplate formulations of rotten legalese permits one to
surmise that the pressure on the provider will become so great that they
themselves will lower the security standards.
We of the AfD reject this total
surveillance of the citizens. We stand for a free internet and freedom of
opinion in this country. In May of this year, we already brought a motion,
“Freedom on the Internet – Strengthen Citizens’ Rights.” All of you here
rejected it. And yet, ladies and gentlemen, we will not give up.
Florian
Post (SPD): We neither!
We will continue to fight for freedom,
for the right to openly state one’s opinion, without angst or harassment, since
we already once had that in Germany, and that we do not want again.
My appeal to the Federal government
and here especially to the Justice Minister: Stop the curtailment of
fundamental human rights. Stop the limitation of the rights of freedom. And
before all, finally stop with all that as an introduction to servitude [Bedienungsanleitung] is to be read of in the novel “1984”.
Many thanks.
Ullii
Nissen (SPD): How nice that this speech is over!
[Translated by Todd Martin]
