In the wake of a national tragedy and massacre in Norway, Germany considers whether it needs to do more on surveillance and asks citizens to adopt a “If you see something, say something” type of mindset. The Local reports:
A major German police union has called on internet users to help law enforcement prevent tragedies such as the Norway massacre by reporting violent extremist views expressed on blogs and web forums.
As German politicians debated what, if any, new measures were needed in the wake of the massacre, Bernhard Witthaut, head of the Gewerkschaft der Polizei (GdP) police union said authorities needed help from the public.
“It’s important that we are all vigilant about such things and all help to ensure such attacks don’t happen. The police can’t do it on their own.”
His remarks came as a debate re-emerged about the controversial technique of internet and phone data-gathering, under which all German web use and phone call records would be automatically stored for a certain period. After politicians from the ruling conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and their Bavarian counterparts the Christian Social Union (CSU) called for a re-examination of data-gathering, opposition politicians slammed the calls.
Read more on The Local (De).