BND is not a private organisation but a part of the federal government. They are a secret service. That's why they can get away with it, they cannot be fined, s

BND is not a private organisation but a part of the federal government. They are a secret service. That's why they can get away with it, they cannot be fined, sued or even investigated properly in such matters. And while one of the lessons of Nazi Germany is keeping the secret services on a tight leash, that leash has become longer and longer during the cold war. Nowadays, I do not think there is any effective control of Germany's secret services anymore.