Dr Jonas Botta as Expert on the Reform of the General Security and Public Order Act in Berlin
On 29 September 2025, Dr Jonas Botta, Research Associate at the National Institute for Public Administration Germany (NIPAG), gave expert evidence before the Committee on Internal Affairs of the Berlin House of Representatives regarding the planned reform of the General Security and Public Order Act in Berlin (ASOG). His statement focused in particular on legal authorisations that are especially sensitive from a fundamental rights perspective — specifically, the provisions on the training and testing of AI systems (§ 42d ASOG-E) and automated data analysis (§ 47a ASOG-E).
On 29 September 2025, Dr Jonas Botta, Research Associate at the National Institute for Public Administration Germany (NIPAG), gave expert evidence before the Committee on Internal Affairs of the Berlin House of Representatives regarding the planned reform of the General Security and Public Order Act in Berlin (ASOG). His statement focused in particular on legal authorisations that are especially sensitive from a fundamental rights perspective — specifically, the provisions on the training and testing of AI systems (§ 42d ASOG-E) and automated data analysis (§ 47a ASOG-E).
Dr Botta emphasised that both provisions, in their current draft form, are incompatible with higher-ranking law and require substantial revision. He particularly criticised the disproportionate interference with the fundamental right to informational self-determination resulting from § 47a ASOG-E. For example, the authorisation in § 47a (1) sentence 2 number 2 ASOG-E fails to set an appropriate threshold for intervention — namely, the protection of particularly important legal interests, which must be underpinned by at least a sufficiently specific danger. Moreover, the draft provision lacks an adequate system of oversight by an independent data protection authority.
“If the House of Representatives does not implement the necessary corrections, the essential modernisation of public security law will remain permanently overshadowed by the Damoclean sword of illegality,” Dr Botta warned.
Image source: Gunnar Richter Namenlos.net, „Mercedes police van, Berlin“, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode
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