The German Bundesrat has called for significant changes to a proposed federal legislative package that would regulate automated image matching on the internet and AI-supported data analyses for criminal prosecution. The draft legislation, which introduces a new Paragraph 98e to the Code of Criminal Procedure proposed by Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, responds to a February 2023 Federal Constitutional Court ruling demanding explicit legal grounds for police analysis platforms. The chamber of states considers the government's draft technically insufficient and vague regarding how data must be consolidated prior to automated processing, urging reduced hurdles for mass data matching in criminal proceedings. In addition to demanding a central IT monitoring role for federal authorities, the states' stance comes alongside warnings from the internet industry regarding the creation of a state-controlled search space.

Background: Biometrics and Identification

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