On 07.05.2008, the Federal Network Agency published in its official gazette the annual statistics 2007 of interception measures of telecommunications in criminal proceedings according to § 110 para. 8 Telecommunications Act (TKG). According to these statistics, 38,386 orders for the interception of telecommunications and 7,603 extension orders were issued by the courts last year. The orders concerned 39,200 numbers of mobile telephone connections (2006: 35816 numbers) and 5,078 numbers of fixed network connections (analogue and ISDN) (2006: 5099).
In the mobile phone sector, there has been a continuing increase in surveillance measures, which can generally be attributed to increases in subscribers. Especially in 2007, an increase in mobile phone subscribers of over 13 per cent entailed a correspondingly steeper increase in surveillance measures compared to previous years. In the fixed network area, a slight decrease in surveillance measures was observed, analogous to the year 2006.
According to the Code of Criminal Procedure, telecommunications surveillance measures may only be used in cases of particularly serious crime. In principle, this requires a judicial order.
The previous legal obligation of telecommunications operators to compile annual statistics on surveillance measures carried out, as well as the legal mandate of the Federal Network Agency to publish them, ceased on 1 January 2008. This task is now taken over by the Länder, the Federal Public Prosecutor General and the Federal Office of Justice according to Section 100b (5) and (6) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (stopp). The Länder and the Federal Public Prosecutor General report to the Federal Office of Justice every calendar year by 30 June of the year following the year under review on measures ordered in their area of responsibility under section 100a of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Federal Office of Justice compiles an overview of the measures ordered nationwide in the reporting year and publishes it on the internet.
Source: Press release of the Federal Network Agency of 07.05.2008, Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway Press Office, Tulpenfeld 4,53113 Bonn, www.bundesnetzagentur.de
Goldberg Attorneys at Law, Wuppertal-Solingen 2008
Attorney at Law Michael Ullrich, LL.M.(Information Law)
m.ullrich@goldberg.de
