Terrorism

Facebook: friend or foe German investigators?

From politicians and security circles there is a barrage of allegations: Facebook refuse to give information, will not cooperate with the authorities. A new law will – with a view to the terrorist threat. Experts have doubts.

At least six Facebook Profiles of the assassins of Ansbach, who blew himself up a few weeks ago, on the outskirts of a music festival up in the air and 15 people, some seriously injured. At least he used to spread the false identity of Islamist Propaganda. The 17-Year-old, the attack in Würzburg people with an axe, kept under two Accounts in the social network.

For the police and the Prosecutor’s office of the Social Media presence of the offender is a treasure trove of information – and to determine, therefore, of inestimable value, to make accomplices locate, backgrounds, and other terrorist attacks, to exclude. “The perpetrators boast of often the Internet for their fact. You write on your timeline, what you did, where you did it and where the murder weapon they have deposited,” explains the lawyer for the Internet criminal and data protection law, Saleh R. Ihwas, in an Interview with DW. “Perpetrators of terrorist acts to communicate with each other through Social networks and use them as a dissemination tool.”

Saleh R. Ihwas is a lawyer for Internet law and data protection law

Even away from the war on terror, the police occasionally uses the communication need of of Criminal. Ihwas reported of a thief, logged in to the house he had just burglarized, in his Facebook profile and not logged out. So he could be transferred.

Many unanswered requests

In the past three years, the 300,000 requests from law authorities in the case of Facebook, of which 16.000 alone from Germany. These Figures, the company published in its annual transparency reports. Because the German police in the USA, the stored data will not have access, you must first make a request on legal assistance.

The Problem is that Not always Facebook and co. to cooperate, So the “world on Sunday” (WamS) found that 37 percent of the German requests remained unanswered. The chief of the Federal constitutional protection, Hans-Georg Maassen, urged the social networks, therefore, better with the safety authorities.

German politicians by party across all agree that this state needs to change – and demand a new law. “As a result, it must be ensured that social networks in request for information officer point of contact in Germany to provide,” explains Bavaria’s interior Minister Joachim Herrmann. North Rhine-Westphalia Minister of justice Thomas Kutschaty defendant: “If it does not take ten seconds, that in Germany, the posted photo is seen in New Delhi, I expect that Facebook requests from law enforcement replied to the authorities within one hour.” He cannot understand “why Facebook shows so bulky.”

In the Islamist Milieu, social networks are used for communication and for the dissemination of Propaganda

Blame the bureaucracy?

Is Facebook intentionally to obstruct German investigative work? This accusation of the US group. Not only in connection with the attacks in Würzburg, Munich and Ansbach, you’ve done a full support, the company said. However, a number of authorities requests in other cases are so flawed that they could not be used by Facebook edited. Such a request may be made by any investigative authority. In fact, the Federal criminal police office (BKA) reported good cooperation with the social network – if the Form will be adhered to.

Rainer Wendt criticised the activism of the politicians

The Federal Chairman of the German police Union, Rainer Wendt, says the DW: “In the international legal order, many of the formal things need to be considered.” A police officer is required to observe, for example, laws and the correct language to use. “Because you can make a lot of mistakes,” he admits. “Terrorist investigators from the BKA, have, of course, other possibilities than the normal investigator”. A Problem Wendt agreed that this is not, however. In cases investigated by the police for murder, drug offenses and all other crimes, it is sufficient to determine in the social environment of the offender.

Concerns of the police and the judiciary

The Call for a new law based Wendt holding, therefore, is exaggerated. “The German legislator has been a tendency, even the weather, by Statute, to lay down,” he says jokingly. He had serious doubts, that Germany was to enact a law could be binding on an international company such as Facebook to anything. “What happens if Facebook is in breach of such law? Once nothing.” With such a claim, the policy make it very easy to find Wendt. You should prefer to take care of, to improve the capacity of the police, for example, by trained investigators.

Also a lawyer Ihwas is not sure whether such a law would have the desired effect. “In order for German law enforcement could access authorities directly to the user’s data, should Facebook be ultimately obliged to save this in Germany,” he says.

Social Media expert Hendrik Unger knows the strategy of Facebook and co.

The Köner Social Media expert Hendrik Unger provides the privacy that should be ensured in the case of a new law. In a DW Interview, he says: “It can lead to so-called data leakage – so that data is incorrectly edited, because for example, it is only a suspicion and not a proven Crime.”

Ihwas declared that he had the impression that in the current debate to come as quickly as possible to the data of Suspects. “But just in the case of sensitive data, a request takes,” he says. It needs to be carefully examined, which data shall be specific at all relevant, and when personal preferences and the like no role in the investigation played.