Thu, Jul 29th 2021 8:40pm
Glyn Moody
As Techdirt has reported previously, the use of malware to spy on suspects or even innocent citizens has long been regarded as legitimate by the German authorities. The recent leak of thousands of telephone numbers that may or may not be victims of the Pegasus spyware has suddenly brought this surveillance technique out of the shadows and into the limelight. People are finally starting to ask questions about the legitimacy of this approach when used by governments, given how easily the software can be and apparently has been abused. An interesting decision from Germany s constitutional court shows that even one of the biggest fans of legal malware is trying to work out how such programs based on zero-days can be deployed in a way that s compatible with fundamental rights. The court s press release explains:
Statement on the handling of the Benin Bronzes in German museums and institutions LISTEN
APR 30, 2021
On Thursday, 29 April 2021, at the invitation of the Minister of State for Culture and the Media, Monika Grütters, a digital meeting took place on the further handling of the Benin Bronzes in German museums and institutions. The aim is to arrive at a coordinated position in Germany and to reach a common understanding with the Nigerian side. The participants in the talks were the directors of the German museums belonging to the Benin Dialogue Group, which hold the largest collections in Germany from the historical Kingdom of Benin (Nigeria), the responsible Cultural Affairs Ministers of the Länder, the City of Cologne, which runs the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, and the Federal Foreign Office.