Cabinet Approves Federal Police Powers for Drones and Mobile Tracking

The federal police are to be given more powers and responsibilities in key areas, including drone defense, cell phone tracking, and securing passenger data. On Wednesday, the federal cabinet introduced a federal police law with many amendments, which was presented by Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU). Another law planned by the federal government, which would allow the German Armed Forces to shoot down drones, was not on the federal cabinet's agenda.

‍

‍
The federal police are legally responsible for defending against drones. Dobrindt recently warned of the increased danger posed by drones due to several incidents, including one at Munich Airport. Defending against them requires “a fundamental expansion of the technical and tactical capabilities of the federal police,” according to the draft law, which was made available to AFP by government circles. Until now, the German Armed Forces have been “geared towards defending against ground-based threats,” but drone defense is now creating “a new area of operation in the lower part of the lower airspace.”

‍

According to the draft law, the federal police will therefore be provided with more equipment, at an annual cost of 90 million euros. In addition, 341 additional employees will be hired to operate and procure the equipment. Dobrindt also plans to introduce another law to transfer responsibility for the possible shooting down of Bundeswehr drones. This is not currently provided for by law. The amendment to the Air Security Act is still being discussed within the federal government.

‍
The law passed on Wednesday will also give the federal police more legal options in other areas. More technical means are to be allowed to be used to locate cell phones, such as so-called silent SMS messages, which are not displayed to the recipient. In addition, data on passengers flying to Germany from outside the Schengen area is to be automatically collected by airlines and transmitted to the police.

‍

‍

The police will also be able to issue so-called restraining orders to prevent crimes. This would prohibit potential offenders from being in certain places, such as train stations or airports. This new category goes beyond the regulation of so-called expulsion orders, which are only valid for a limited period of time. These new residence bans are also to be used, among other things, to defend against drones near airports.