German BND Begins Shutdown of Cooperation in NSA Program

During the past week, Germany has been rocked by publication of allegations that the nation’s foreign-intelligence agency, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), worked with the NSA to spy on the communications of government officials and business corporations throughout Europe.

The Guardian reported yesterday, citing German press reports, that the BND ceased online surveillance this week (though fax and phone intercepts continue), after the NSA (perhaps reflecting its “take it all” approach in the U.S. also rejected yesterday by the U.S. Court of Appeals) “failed to provide a clear reason for each request for the surveillance of individuals or organisations.” The article reported that these reasons had been demanded by the BND and Chancellor Merkel’s office last month, after the BND’s chief “informed the Chancellery that there was ‘massive doubt’ about the veracity of the joint surveillance activities, which have been going on for a decade.” Demands by Bundestag authorities for more information about the program (including “identifiers” or search terms that have been used at NSA’s request) are ongoing. Chancellor Merkel has said she’s willing to testify to the Bundestag, but that will probably not occur until after consultations with the U.S. are completed regarding the “identifiers” list.