Safety for dictatorships – exports of scouting software must be regulated … – Süddeutsche.de

For years, IT companies could peek sell software freely to dictatorships and authoritarian regimes. Now wants to regulate exports to the EU level stronger economy minister Gabriel. The move comes too late.

From Hakan Tanriverdi

​​There are billions of reasons, good to find the violation of Sigmar Gabriel: At European level, a group of experts to be used, which meets regularly and also advises how the Export Control of monitoring software in Europe can be improved.

There is a market in which bring mainly Western European companies their products to dictatorships and authoritarian regimes. German companies are among the top sellers. The regime set up the software to find opposition. Human rights groups report of torture, made possible by the sale of this software. It is a market, several billion euros will be implemented in the year – and every single one of these Euros is reason enough to come to the conclusion: the export regulations are a necessity. Because they ensure that less money is spent on human rights crimes

But what you also have to say. That experience these controls only in the year 2014 in force, is shameful

For years. across the federal government has ignored the problem simply. In 2010, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said security technologies for future market. For many years, was the motto: “support international activities, strengthen exports”. As potential markets, the Gulf States and North Africa have been identified, including those countries where activists and computer experts have a short time later actually found traces of German IT company. Documents that are running lured with an all-inclusive package. . Monitoring on a button to buy for 287,137 euros

How good are the experts do their job

What’s more? At EU level, 2011 Preliminary checks were discussed in the year. You should be enshrined in law, but the plan failed – in virtually the last minute FDP politician voted against it. One of their arguments was: “You will not be able to capture all eventualities of life through detailed laws.” That’s a very bureaucratic formulation. A simple “I do not care” would have been more honest.

This time is now over. Economy Minister Gabriel has made the regulation of the export of scouting software seems to be a theme that he wants to promote. Only an export ban was announced, which was in May, and now follows the EU expert group to pooling expertise and to adopt their own regulations. The IT technology is developing rapidly, it is necessary to react as fast.

The key question will be how well the experts do their job. Because there is a good reason why scouting software are considered dual-use goods that can be used by both military and civilian purposes. You will be able to secure systems or to attack them. The software itself is neutral, it depends on how it is used. IT experts doubt for this reason that, a useful distinction is possible and worry about their daily work is criminalized by the control.

If this is the case, thus the entire Internet is insecure. With the first people to have to suffer would dissidents. So those people for whom these export controls are introduced.