4 ms·
Wait? They previously allowed everybody and their mother to request the information? Limiting it to ‘citizens of the european union’ seems eminently reasonable.
by Aeolun 3mo ago
Wait? They previously allowed everybody and their mother to request the information? Limiting it to ‘citizens of the european union’ seems eminently reasonable.
- varispeed 3mo agoWon't this require citizen to provide ID and therefore citizens asking difficult questions could become a target for retaliation?
- schnitzelstoat 3mo agoYou can also be a resident, paying plenty of taxes, yet not be a citizen.
- LauraMedia 3mo agoYes, and there is currently talks if this also means NGOs like FragDenStaat or media outlets could no longer request information.
- master-lincoln 3mo agowas already the case https://www.bverwg.de/pm/2024/10 https://www.bverwg.de/pm/2024/10
- inigyou 3mo agoIt's already the case that if you question Israel's right to exist you are considered an antisemitic terrorist and arrested - they are now trying to codify this into an actual law (not just something the police do). There is no freedom in Germany. The mistakes of the past did not change anyone's mindset about human rights and freedom. They only learned how to put on a facade of caring about them. And they are the most powerful member of the European Union.
- master-lincoln 3mo ago> The mistakes of the past did not change anyone's mindset about human rights and freedom As if anybody who experienced this themselves has a big influence on current politics...WW2 ended 81 years ago
- inigyou 3mo agoMindsets are quite hereditary at the collective level, if you didn't notice.
- master-lincoln 3mo agoI noticed, but then those next generations wouldn't change their mindsets, cause they had that mindset from childhood on.
- eigenspace 3mo agoMaybe, but the more problematic part is disallowing NGOs from submitting information requests. Multiple previous corruption scandals in Germany were exposed exactly because NGOs themselves were allowed to submit these information requests (and pay for them).
- mytailorisrich 3mo agoIMHO banning organisations from making requests will have no effect. People will just make requests in their own names, instead, then what?
- gustavus 3mo agoThe government has a list of pesky troublemakers to target individually if they prove too annoying? I'm sure the good people of Germany can figure out something to charge someone with.
- eigenspace 3mo agoThere are fees that need to be paid to make a freedom of information request (fees which they also want to jack up), and if an NGO offers to pay that fee so that a native German citizen can make the request, it could be construed as foreign interference.
- jabiko 3mo agoAlso with the planned changes, you have to prove that you have an legitimate interest in the information. Which makes the whole thing very vague. So the government can just say that they don't think you have a legitimate interest in the information and deny your request. You would then have to sue. Also also want to invoice you for all costs that your request causes. Previously it was capped at 500€. So your request could cost you thousands of euros. You are at the mercy of the government how many people are working on your request and how efficient they process it.
- Ntrails 3mo ago> Previously it was capped at 500€. So your request could cost you thousands of euros. To be clear, it is currently costing the taxpayer said thousands of Euros. Time spent by government workers on FoI requests is meaningful and not free. That does not make them a bad idea, but we should be clear that passing costs on to the requester isn't precisely nefarious?
- myrmidon 3mo agoNot really. The main "purpose" for such information is to be published, and at that point it makes no difference who exactly requested it. Personal view: The current mainly governing party in Germany (CDU/CSU) is a bunch of incompetent, nepotistic gerontocrats, and this change is mainly intended to make it harder for independent press to air their dirty laundry. Just for reference: Approval rating for Merz (chancellor) is under 20% (!!); even Trump is >35%.
- master-lincoln 3mo agoI am wondering if a valid aspect of limiting this to people living in Germany could be to prevent Denial of Service attacks from abroad. Of course these could also be launched from Germans...
- jabiko 3mo agoUnder the current law you already have to pay up to 500€ for a request. That would be a very costly DoS attack.
- BadBadJellyBean 3mo agoThere is more to it. To request information you have to have some "legitimate interest" which is not yet defined and sounds like an easy way to not give out information. Also no more NGOs. They were the ones who had the most power to wrestle information out of the hands of rather unwilling parties. The cost of going to court for this would deter most private persons.
- black_puppydog 3mo agoAlso no more limit on the cost they can bill you for providing the information. This can easily be 5 figures and isn't known before it's too late.
- downrightmike 3mo agoCitizen: Pays taxes, creating the info being requested Citizen: Pays again to get access to the info
- danielfoster 3mo agoSuch a restriction isn’t patently unreasonable but it would make it more difficult for foreign journalists to do research, and it would add the hassle of requiring individuals to show proof of residence when submitting a request. Anonymous requests under pseudonyms would become impossible. For what it’s worth, only a handful of US states have a residency requirement for FOIA requests.
- bakies 3mo agoWhat about watchdog groups?
- inigyou 3mo agoThey will not be allowed to file requests.