German BfDI criticises federal biometric FRT expansion as Cabinet security package passes and EU AI Act deferral reduces oversight pressure

Germany’s Federal Data Protection Commissioner (BfDI) Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider issued sharp criticism on 7 May 2026 of the federal government’s planned expansion of biometric facial recognition for law enforcement, published in the context of a broader analysis of the shifting EU and German surveillance landscape by Boerse-Express on 9 May. The German Cabinet approved a comprehensive security package in late April 2026 providing for large-scale AI-assisted analysis tools and facial recognition software for criminal prosecution. The BfDI’s record of complaints reached 11,824 submissions in 2025, up 36% year-on-year, reflecting growing public concern. The package is being debated against the backdrop of the EU AI Act Digital Omnibus deal of 7 May deferring high-risk AI obligations for LE to December 2027 — a deferral German privacy advocates describe as creating a regulatory window in which national surveillance expansion may proceed without effective EU-level constraint. The Berlin Administrative Court separately ruled that CCTV surveillance in public swimming pools is legally permissible after documented crime reduction.