Germany holds 18.47 % of the EU population. Its government is conditional on mandatory scanning of private messages: one line in public, another in its negotiating instruction, since Jun 2026.
Conditional Last checked 11 October 2026
Zusammenfassung auf Deutsch
Deutschland ist in diesem Register als „bedingt“ eingestuft: öffentlich gegen die verpflichtende Durchsuchung privater Nachrichten, in der Verhandlungsweisung aber nicht dagegen. Am 8. Oktober 2025 erklärte Justizministerin Stefanie Hubig (SPD), anlasslose Chatkontrolle müsse in einem Rechtsstaat tabu sein. Die Ablehnung der Bundesregierung brachte im Oktober 2025 den Text mit Aufdeckungspflicht zu Fall.
Gemäß der Verhandlungsweisung vom Juni 2026, die aus Ratsdokumenten bekannt wurde, lehnt die Bundesregierung eine verpflichtende Aufdeckung nicht ab, wenn sie das freiwillige Scannen ergänzt; für das freiwillige Scannen will sie einen möglichst weiten Rahmen. Laut einem internen Positionspapier der Bundesregierung, über das dpa am 29. September 2026 berichtete, soll die freiwillige Suche durch Anbieter nicht von einer vorherigen Erlaubnis oder ähnlichen Einschränkungen abhängen. Im Rat stimmte Deutschland am 26. November 2025 für das Verhandlungsmandat und im Juli 2026 für Chat Control 1.0, die Rückkehr des freiwilligen Scannens.
Am 9. Juli 2026 stimmten von den 96 in Deutschland gewählten Europaabgeordneten 54 für die Ablehnung von Chat Control 1.0 und 35 gegen die Ablehnung. Zuständig ist Bundesinnenminister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), dessen Ministerium die Weisung vom Juni 2026 erteilte. Deutschland hat 18,47 % der EU-Bevölkerung; gemeinsam mit den neun Regierungen, die eine verpflichtende Durchsuchung ablehnen, käme es rechnerisch auf mehr als die für eine Sperrminorität nötigen 35 %.
Zusammenfassung mit Stand vom 10. Oktober 2026. Maßgeblich ist der englische Eintrag unten, der für jede Angabe eine Quelle nennt.
What the government has said
“Suspicionless chat control must be taboo in a state under the rule of law. Private communication must never be placed under general suspicion.”Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig, 8 October 2025, translated from German
Receipt: Federal government press conference and Justice Ministry, 8 Oct 2025
Its refusal sank the mandatory text in October 2025. Since then Berlin pushes the widest scope for voluntary scanning and, per its June 2026 instruction, does not oppose mandatory detection if it complements voluntary scanning.
How it voted in the Council
- Negotiating mandate, 26 November 2025
- yes The Council position adopted in Coreper: voluntary scanning only, no detection orders. Coreper does not publish votes; the split was reported the same day by the Czech news agency CTK.
- Chat Control 1.0, 23 July 2026
- yes The vote that brought back the temporary rules: voluntary scanning of private messages allowed until 3 April 2028.
A government can oppose mandatory scanning and still vote for the voluntary regime. The two are listed separately for that reason. Council votes need 15 states with 65 % of the population; four states with more than 35 % block.
How its MEPs voted
On 9 July 2026 the European Parliament voted on a motion to reject the Council text that brought back voluntary scanning, Chat Control 1.0. Rejection needed 361 votes and got 314, so the text passed. Of the 96 MEPs elected in Germany, 54 voted to reject it, 35 voted against rejection, 1 abstained and 6 did not vote.
- 54 for rejection, that is against voluntary scanning
- 35 against rejection, letting the text pass
- 1 abstained
- 6 did not vote
The government line above concerns mandatory scanning; this vote concerned the voluntary regime. They are different questions, which is why both are shown. Source: roll-call vote 195775 as published by the European Parliament and compiled by HowTheyVote.eu; all 27 delegations side by side on the governments page.
Who decides in Germany
- Minister
- Alexander Dobrindt, Federal Minister of the Interior (CSU); his ministry issued the June 2026 negotiating instruction. Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) gave the public line of 8 Oct 2025
- Ministry in charge
- Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI), with the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV)
- Permanent representation
- Ambassador Thomas Ossowski, Permanent Representative (Coreper II); Ambassador Helen Winter, Deputy Permanent Representative (Coreper I)
- National parliament
- Bundestag: the Committee on Internal Affairs is the lead committee. Plenary debated the file on 9 Oct 2025 (Aktuelle Stunde) and on 17 Dec 2025 (motion 21/3296, referred to committee)
Source: www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/bundesregierung/bundeskabinett/bundeskabinett-2342878
Timeline
- An internal government position paper reported by dpa says voluntary searching by providers must not depend on prior permission or similar restrictions. Berlin opposes the compromise idea of search plans approved by a national judicial or independent administrative authority, and proposes giving companies such as Meta, Microsoft and Google permission to detect in principle, with the planned EU Centre in charge and its decisions open to judicial review. Added on 3 October; missed at the time. source
- Correction. Germany moved from Against to Conditional. Its public line of 8 October 2025 stands, but the negotiating instruction reported from Council documents in June 2026 does not oppose mandatory detection where it supplements voluntary scanning, so counting Germany as against overstated the record. source
- Council vote on Chat Control 1.0, the temporary rules. Germany: yes.
- European Parliament votes on rejecting Chat Control 1.0; the motion fails, the text passes. MEPs elected in Germany: 54 for rejection, 35 against, 1 abstained, 6 did not vote. source
- Recorded as conditional. Receipt: Federal government press conference and Justice Ministry, 8 Oct 2025 source
- Bundestag refers motion 21/3296 against any form of chat control to the Committee on Internal Affairs. source
- Council negotiating mandate adopted in Coreper. Germany: yes.
- Bundestag debates Chat Control in an Aktuelle Stunde, one day after the government stated its public line. source
Sources
- Federal government press conference and Justice Ministry, 8 Oct 2025 (receipt)
- Justice Ministry quote page, 8 Oct 2025
- Interior Ministry instruction and Council minutes, June 2026, via netzpolitik.org
- Permanent Representation of Germany to the EU, the ambassadors
- Method: what the labels mean and where the population shares come from
This page is one of 27 records behind Where the 27 governments stand. Together the governments against hold 32.9 % of the EU population; a blocking minority needs more than 35 %.
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Data for all 27: JSON · CSV. Found a mistake? Tell us; we correct openly and say what changed.
Cite as: Brussels Record, “Germany: position on Chat Control”, last checked 11 October 2026, https://brusselsrecord.com/member-states/germany/
