Case Summary
Since 2017, the German State of Hesse has been using a data analytics software, provided by a US Company. A coalition of 11 plaintiffs, including civil society organisations, challenged the system arguing that it facilitates predictive policing to profile individuals as suspects even before a crime has been committed. They questioned the legal foundation of the laws sanctioning these systems, alleging that Hesse and Hamburg failed to specify the data sources available to the police or the extent and criteria for data mining. The Constitutional Court invalidated the laws enabling the police to conduct automated data analysis of stored personal data in Hesse or automated data interpretation in Hamburg. These systems were deemed unconstitutional for breaching the right to informational self-determination.
Access to the full judgment
Further notes on contested technology
- → AI Technology
- → Partly Automated-Decision
- → The technology is deployed
Additional resources
Read the analysis of the case from Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte here: https://freiheitsrechte.org/themen/freiheit-im-digitalen/verfassungsbeschwerde-polizei-verfassungsschutzgesetz-hh
Author of the case note
