20. January 2026

Wanted: A legal authority for data purchases by German security and intelligence agencies

Germany's lack of regulation on advertisement intelligence…

by Svenja EfingerStudent Assistant, Interface

Svenja Efinger (she/her) is a student assistant at interface's Digital Rights, Surveillance and Democracy programme. She is currently pursuing a Master’s in Political Science at the Free University of Berlin. Her research focuses on the intersection of law and politics in the governance of the digital sphere and the resilient institutional design of democracies.

26. June 2024

Legal and Oversight Gaps in Germany’s Military Intelligence

As German intelligence law undergoes additional reforms,…

by Corbinian Ruckerbauer

Corbinian Ruckerbauer (he/him) is a policy researcher at interface's Digital Rights, Surveillance and Democracy unit. He coordinates the European Intelligence Oversight Network (EION), which provides a space for regular and structured exchange between European intelligence oversight officials and other experts. He is part of the editorial team of about:intel and was also involved in the conception of intelligence-oversight.org, a tool providing best practices in intelligence oversight for practitioners, academics, journalists and the interested public. His research focuses on the cooperation of public and private actors in the security sector and its impact on civil liberties, the rule of law, and democracy.

30. April 2024

Why and how German judicial intelligence oversight needs empowerment

A new statutory framework for the Independent Control…

by Hannah Aeterna BornePhD Researcher in International Relations, SCRIPTS

Hannah is a doctoral researcher at the Berlin Graduate School for Global and Transregional Studies linked to the Cluster of Excellence 'Contestations of the Liberal Script' (SCRIPTS) where she analyzes the use of satellite technology in international conflict. Her research interests encompass international security, surveillance technologies, and international politics of human rights.

23. March 2022

Five things you didn’t know about Germany’s foreign intelligence reform

An account of 5 critical changes that merit careful…

by Kilian ViethResearcher and Project Manager, Stiftung Neue Verantwortung

Kilian Vieth manages Stiftung Neue Verantwortung’s work on digital rights, surveillance, and democracy. He is the project manager for the European Intelligence Oversight Network (EION), which provides European intelligence oversight officials and other experts a space for regular and structured exchange. As a researcher in the GUARDINT project, Kilian studies the potentials and limits of overseeing surveillance and works on the development of an intelligence oversight index and a surveillance law database. His research focusses on the democratic control of intelligence and reform approaches for rights-based and more efficient intelligence and surveillance policy in Germany and Europe. Beyond that, his research interests include digital human rights and critical security studies. He was invited to testify before the parliament of Hesse on regional intelligence legislation. Kilian previously worked on different research projects at the Center for Internet and Human Rights (CIHR) at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, where he is still a Fellow. He has also worked as a consultant and project manager in political campaigning at a communications consultancy in Berlin. He holds a dual master’s degree in Political Science and European Affairs from Sciences Po Paris (France) and Freie Universität Berlin (Germany) and a bachelor’s degree in Public Management and Governance from Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen (Germany).