If he has his way, this should also include a constitutionally compliant monitoring option for messenger services, as the head of department emphasizes: “It would make sense to deal with this in one go.”
The desire of the executive branch to be able to access messenger services during its investigations is not new. Karner refers to a corresponding passage in the government program. Austria is the only country in the European Union that does not have such opportunities.
In some cases this year, suspected terrorism only became known following information from foreign partner services. Here, Karner says, we are lagging behind other services due to a lack of legal options. But this is less the problem than the fact that we are lagging behind terrorists who use the most modern methods. The aim is to arrest such people and not the neighbor if he is having fun with the neighbor.
It is now the turn of Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Greens), who has already announced a quick repair. The decision of the Constitutional Court did not come as a surprise to him. This might now be used as an opportunity to enable the police to use the modern investigative methods that they need in a manner that complies with the constitution.
In a ruling published on Tuesday, the Constitutional Court ruled that the current practice of confiscating cell phones and other data carriers without prior judicial approval contradicts the constitution. The legislature must correct the relevant passage in the Code of Criminal Procedure by January 1, 2025 at the latest.
