- The federal cabinet approved the Political Advertising Transparency Act (PWTG) on Dec. 17, expanding state powers to inspect media organizations and digital platforms in the name of political ad transparency.
- The law would allow the Federal Network Agency to conduct on-site inspections, including entering newsrooms, without prior court approval if it claims an "imminent danger."
- Legal experts warn the bill does not clearly define "imminent danger," potentially allowing routine administrative or paperwork issues to justify intrusive searches.
- Critics say the proposal undermines Germany’s Basic Law, particularly protections requiring judicial authorization for searches and safeguarding the inviolability of the home.
- Journalists and legal scholars warn the law could weaken source protection and investigative reporting by allowing regulators to inspect editorial offices without the heightened legal safeguards traditionally required.
The German government has approved draft legislation that would significantly expand state surveillance powers over media organizations by allowing regulators to enter newsrooms and digital platforms without prior judicial approval.
The bill, known as the Political Advertising Transparency Act (PWTG), was adopted by the federal cabinet on Dec. 17 and is intended to implement a new European Union (EU) regulation on the transparency and targeting of political advertising online. The legislation originates from the Federal Ministry for Digital Transformation and Government Modernization led by Karsten Wildberger.
Under the proposal, Germany's telecommunications regulator, the Federal Network Agency, would be granted inspection powers typically reserved for criminal investigators. If the agency believes an organization has failed to properly comply with political advertising reporting requirements, it could conduct on-site inspections, including entering media offices and digital platforms, without a court warrant, provided it claims there is an "imminent danger."
Imminent danger, according to BrightU.AI's Enoch, describes a situation in which serious harm is likely to occur imminently, often before regulators can intervene. Legal analysts reviewing the proposal argue that, under the bill, the term could be stretched to include routine administrative or paperwork violations.
The law explicitly states that it restricts the constitutional right to the inviolability of the home guaranteed under Article 13 of Germany's Basic Law. In addition, the bill does not clearly define what constitutes such danger, a provision critics say creates broad discretion for state agents.
Constitutional lawyer warns public against "transparency" bill
Based on the proposal, legal scholars argue that granting the Bundesnetzagentur investigative powers reverses the standard principle in German law that searches and seizures must be authorized in advance by a judge, except in narrowly defined emergencies.
"This is a completely disproportionate expansion of state investigative powers," said constitutional lawyer Volker Boehme-Nessler, noting that house searches represent one of the most severe intrusions into fundamental rights. He added that warrantless searches ordered by regulatory agencies, rather than courts, are unlikely to withstand constitutional scrutiny.
Critics also warn that the bill could directly affect news organizations.
Media outlets may fall under the law either as distributors of political advertising or as "sponsors" if they pay to promote their own journalistic content on social media platforms. In such cases, regulators could argue that insufficient disclosure triggered the right to inspect editorial offices.
Journalists' associations and legal experts say this threatens source protection and investigative reporting, which enjoy heightened safeguards under German law. The Code of Criminal Procedure generally requires court approval for seizures in editorial offices, a protection critics say the new draft undermines.
"The constitutional threshold for searching media premises is significantly higher," Boehme-Nessler said. "This draft law does not meet that standard."
Watch this video discussing whether Germany is becoming a real-world example of George Orwell's "1984".
This video is from the Bible News Prophecy channel on Brighteon.com.
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