I thought you’d be interested in a couple of stories (in English) about the German government’s proposed new BKA law (Federal Crime Agency law, would be my translation) which is proving controversial because it will give the BKA new powers of intercept and “cyber-spying”, through remote online searches of computers. The proposals have passed the Bundestag, but I think are still being discussed in the Bundesrat, so opponents still have some chance of lobbying and getting more safeguards.
The Minister of the Interior now wants to change the voting rules in the Bundesrat, since they are unlikely to pass the bill! He wants votes passed by a simple majority of those present – abstentions (previously seen as Noes) would be ignored.
Slightly off topic, in January I am doing a interview for the German radio DEUTSCHLANDFUNK. The topics are “Why is the imprisonment rate in England higher than anywhere else in Europe?”, and “How does overcrowding effect the life of prisoners?”.