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For two decades, the federal Freedom of Information Act (IFG) has guaranteed citizens the right to request official information from federal authorities. Now, confidential documents from the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) reveal that the planned revision goes far beyond the previously known, already highly controversial restrictions that the coalition committee recently agreed upon. An internal memo from the ministry of Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) reveals strategies that are essentially aimed at the de facto abolition of transparency rights and the targeted weakening of civil society infrastructures.

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At the center of the considerations, which MDR reports on, is a new identification requirement for applicants. What at first glance appears to be a trivial bureaucratic act quickly turns out to be a targeted move against the IFG's scope. The BMI clarifies in the memo, which is several months old, what the primary goal is: to prevent platforms like FragDenStaat from continuing to function as a tool for simplified, digital inquiries. According to MDR, the paper states: “Question portals like ‘Frag den Staat’ could therefore no longer be used as ‘straw men’.”

Through the transparency platform, around 170,000 people have requested official documents with just a few clicks so far. The mandatory unique identification and the end of informal requests via email or online forms would significantly increase the barriers to access. The concern about automated queries or misuse by foreign states, on the other hand, is only mentioned as a secondary issue in the BMI paper.

Digital barrier for research and journalism

The direction of the identification requirement does not coincidentally target a platform that has been instrumental in uncovering official misconduct in the past. For example, IFG-based research has revealed the background of the failed car toll, questionable cuts in funding projects, and the handling of right-wing extremist tendencies. With the erosion of the law, the basis for such research work threatens to crumble.

The BMI's wishes are not limited to excluding digital helpers. The strategy also includes making it more difficult for media professionals and members of the Bundestag to access the IFG. According to the authors, both groups use the transparency law to circumvent restrictions on press law or parliamentary rights to ask questions.

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A refusal of IFG applications for these groups of people would have serious consequences: While press law generally guarantees answers to questions, only the IFG guarantees direct access to files and original documents. Without this option, the journalistic oversight function would be significantly weakened.

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Dismantling the control body and broad resistance

Additionally, the draft proposes the complete abolition of the Federal Commissioner for Information Freedom – the central inspection and mediation body between citizens and administration – without replacement. The package is supplemented by extended area exemptions, for example for research and education. Furthermore, documents from ongoing legislative procedures would in the future remain completely confidential, making argumentative support for current laws before their adoption impossible. Documents originating from other authorities would also have to be requested individually and for a fee.

The Interior Ministry justifies the initiative with hybrid threat scenarios and relieving the administration. However, resistance is growing on a broad front. Critics point out that there is demonstrably no case where the IFG has caused security risks. For FragDenStaat, the revealed memo shows: “The attack on state transparency was apparently planned for a long time.” As early as February, officials had drafted “foundations for an erosion of the IFG”.

Protest is forming against the outlined reform: A petition, supported by over 130 organizations, has already garnered around 600,000 signatures. Furthermore, the coalition partner SPD signals significant concerns and rejects core elements such as the abolition of the Federal Commissioner or restrictions for the press. Whether the Interior Ministry can enforce its maximum demands is uncertain given these conflicts within Schwarz-Rot.

(wpl)

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This article was originally published in

German.

It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.

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