characters, or in other words, less than one DIN A 4 page of text. As a rule, the entries are very brief, usually between 15 and 55 characters, and often contain only one
word. Only one-third of the personal data records contain more than 100 characters
in the free text field under § 3 sec. 1 no. 1b rr ATDG.
From March 2007 to the autumn of 2012, a relatively constant 1,200 search requests per week, or a total of some 350,000 search requests, were recorded. This
shows, the Federal Government says, that the counter-terrorism database is being
used more as a “specialised telephone book”, and not for a general matching of
sources. During this period a request for extended basic data was placed in less than
1% of cases. As a rule, the Federal Government says, it makes more sense for the
agencies to directly contact the agency maintaining the record than to ask for extended basic data, which are only in special situations helpful as a first and rapid assessment of dangerousness. Access to extended basic data was refused in an estimated
one out of every three or four requests.
70
To permit a reasonable limit on the results, the Federal Government says, the system currently ensures that release is refused through technical means for any request
with more than 200 matches. The number of matches resulting from a search averages four to five. Under the emergency provision of § 5 sec. 2 ATDG, only one access to extended basic data took place until August 2012. This was an access by a
Land Criminal Police Office to a data record of the Federal Office for the Protection of
the Constitution.
71
According to the Federal Government, a total of some 7.7 million data records are
stored on the log data server; each data record reflects the database transactions
triggered by one activity in the counter-terrorism database.
72
2. The Federal Commissioner for Data Privacy and Freedom of Information has
concerns about the Counter-Terrorism Database Act. […]
73-74
3. The Schleswig-Holstein Independent Land Centre for Data Privacy and the Berlin 75-76
Commissioner for Data Privacy and Freedom of Information submitted a joint statement. They hold that the constitutional complaint is admissible and well-founded. […]
4. The Baden-Württemberg Land Commissioner for Data Privacy reports on on-site
audits at the Land Criminal Police Office and the Land Office for the Protection of the
Constitution in 2007 (cf. Landtag of Baden-Württemberg, LTDrucks 14/2050, pp. 12
et seq.) and 2012. […]
77
IV.
[…]
78
B.
The constitutional complaint is admissible.
15/45
79