The Interior Ministry has proposed a new law that would allow authorities to more easily read the personal cell phone data of asylum seekers whose identities are hard to prove. Currently the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) is instructed to only collect cell phone data from refugees’ phones with the person’s consent. Collecting mobile phone data has thus far only been done when there is suspicion about a possible crime, and only with the permission of a judge. The minister-president of Hesse, Volker Bouffier, has said that cell phone seizures should remain limited to cases of doubt about the identity of an individual. SZ reports that the collection of cell phone data by immigration authorities has been allowed in principle since a legal amendment in 2015.

Source: The Local February 20, 2017 10:57 UTC