Germany expands surveillance of encrypted message services
Germany on Thursday passed a controversial new law that expands the power of authorities to spy on the content of encrypted message services such as WhatsApp and Skype.
Amid the wave of jihadist attacks in Europe, German lawmakers voted in favour of the law designed "to reinforce the effectiveness of criminal procedures".
German investigators will now be able to insert into users' cellphones and computers spy software (or a "Trojan horse") to access data in encrypted message services such as popular applications WhatsApp and Skype, including as part of criminal investigations.
Up to now, such surveillance tools were not authorised by the German Constitutional Court as part of the anti-terrorism fight.
The new law is seen as a significant change for a country that usually is very protective of private information, given the burden of Germany's past dictatorships, the Nazi regime in the 1930s-40s and the communist government in the east of the country after the war.
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