Austria’s lower house of parliament passed a bill on Wednesday that enables law enforcement and intelligence agencies to monitor the digital communications of high-risk suspects who use encrypted messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal.
The bill was passed by 105 members of parliament (MPs), with 71 voting against it.
Within the governing coalition of the Austrian People’s Party (OVP), the Austrian Social Democrats (SPO) and the liberal NEOS party, two NEOS MPs abstained from voting.
The law stipulates that Austrian domestic intelligence services will be allowed to read communication content under certain conditions in the future. This includes, for example, encrypted chat messages.
In principle, the authority to monitor messages can only be ordered for a period of three months, although an extension is possible. The measure is to be limited to cases that indicate terrorist and constitutionally threatening activities.
Particularly controversial is the fact that spy software is required in the case of encrypted messages. Critics of the law from the opposition see great potential for abuse, and point to security gaps.
Following the vote, Gernot Darmann, the spokesperson for security issues for the largest opposition party, the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), spoke to media representatives about the “surveillance fantasies of the Ministry of the Interior” and the “unconstitutional use of citizen surveillance software.”
Former Justice Minister Alma Zadic of the Greens emphasised that unlike the SPO and NEOS, her party had successfully opposed messenger surveillance in the government for five years.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, on the other hand, expressed relief.
“Today is a special day for security, for the police, and above all for the protection of the constitution,” Karner told reporters after the vote.
“The executive branch is already allowed to open letters and monitor landline telephone calls. But terrorists no longer use these means of communication; they use messenger services instead,” he added.
