Transparent refugees

Emails, phone calls, and messages must be confidential – for everyone. When public authorities scan the cell phones of asylum seekers without restrictions, it violates their privacy. We are taking legal action against this form of government surveillance.

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The GFF is challenging the legal basis and administrative practice of accessing and analyzing cell phones and thus highly personal data of asylum seekers – based on an unconstitutional provision in the Residence Act. This unconstitutional provision was further tightened in February 2024 by the "Repatriation Improvement Act." Not only smartphones and other data storage devices, but also cloud services can now be targeted by the immigration authorities if the identity of the person concerned cannot be established otherwise. Our goal is to have the far too broad provision in the Residence Act reviewed by the courts and to end this unlawful official practice. In December 2024, together with our cooperating attorney Matthias Lehnert and one of the affected individuals, we filed an urgent application and filed a lawsuit with the Stuttgart Administrative Court.

Davy Wang

Lawyer and case coordinator

"Family photos, chats with a friend, private notes – cell phones contain intimate personal information. When the immigration authorities read and evaluate all this data, they obtain a comprehensive personality profile. This violates privacy."

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Extensive Powers for Authorities

The Residence Act grants immigration authorities unrestricted access to all data storage devices of tolerated persons in order to determine their identity and nationality and thus facilitate deportation. This usually applies to cell phones. The authorities do not differentiate between the sensitive or relevant nature of the information on the device. Even deleted data can be recovered. For people leaving their home countries, cell phones are often the only way to stay in touch with family and friends and obtain travel information (see the importance of smartphones on the run).

The amount of data stored on cell phones makes it possible to create a comprehensive personality and behavioral profile of people. Those affected cannot object to the analysis of their private messages, and there is no independent oversight of the authorities' actions. The authorities are deeply invading their privacy, based on a far too vague and broad legal basis.

Migration Policy at the Expense of Fundamental Rights

The "Repatriation Improvement Act" came into force in February 2024 to facilitate deportations. The law expands the already controversial provision in the Residence Act. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) and immigration authorities are granted expanded access to the data of asylum seekers.

The legislature is thus also circumventing a ruling by the Federal Administrative Court that we obtained: In February 2023, after a jump appeal, the court declared the BAMF's then-current practice unlawful. The court clarified: Cell phone data may not be routinely examined, and reading and analyzing data is only lawful if there are no less restrictive means of establishing identity. However, the new legislative amendments continue to allow the BAMF and immigration authorities to read data storage devices comprehensively and without any requirements and to retain them. Only during the analysis are the authorities required to analyze the data only if other means of establishing identity fail. Storing data in advance is already a profound invasion of privacy. We have taken a comprehensive position on this during the legislative process.

In light of the expanded regulation, we urgently need a judicial review and clarification that the Residence Act is unconstitutional in this regard.

Fundamental rights apply to all people in Germany

All people in Germany are entitled to the protection of their fundamental rights. Migration policy goals do not change this. We are committed to opposing both the rampant analysis of cell phone data and the systematically unlawful deportation practices. We are therefore taking legal action to protect the home in order to prevent unlawful room searches during deportation.