German intelligence agency not required to disclose use of Pegasus

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2024-11-17 16:30:04

Germany’s foreign intelligence agency is not required to disclose information related to its acquisition and use of Pegasus spyware to journalists, Germany’s Federal Administrative Court has ruled. The surveillance tool has been highly controversial for years.

Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), is not required to disclose information to the press related to its acquisition and use of Pegasus spyware. The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig issued a ruling on the matter last week.

Arne Semsrott, editor-in-chief of the online research platform FragDenStaat (“Ask the State”), filed a lawsuit against the BND in August 2023 seeking information about whether the intelligence agency had purchased Pegasus spyware. In the event the BND had acquired the tool, Semsrott also wanted to know how frequently it had been used in previous years – and if it was still in use.

Semsrott filed suit after the BND declined his request for information. The agency justified its decision on the grounds that as a matter of policy it refrained from commenting on all matters that touched on intelligence gathering or other intelligence-related activities.