Austria’s lower house of parliament has passed a contentious bill enabling limited surveillance of encrypted messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal—an effort the government says is essential to closing a significant security loophole.
The legislation, approved on Wednesday, aims to give law enforcement and intelligence agencies the legal tools to monitor the digital communications of high-risk suspects. Until now, Austrian authorities have lacked a domestic framework to do so, often depending on intelligence from countries such as the United States and Britain, where surveillance powers are broader.
Officials say the gap has hampered local capabilities to prevent terrorist threats. A notable example was a thwarted attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna last year, which led to the cancellation of all three scheduled shows. The tip-off about the plot reportedly came from foreign partners monitoring encrypted chatter.
“There are no ideological reasons behind this,” Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said, defending the bill introduced by the ruling coalition of three centrist parties. “It is simply necessary for the work of the police and the intelligence services to fight terrorists on a level playing field and prevent attacks.”
The bill has drawn criticism from opposition lawmakers, particularly the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) and the Greens, who voted against it. They argue the legislation could pave the way for mass surveillance beyond its intended scope.
“This is an excessive, massively overreaching encroachment on our citizens’ fundamental rights and freedoms,” said FPO lawmaker Gernot Darmann.
In response, the government has pledged that the monitoring would be used sparingly—limited to individuals deemed to pose a major threat, with a cap of about 30 cases annually. Each instance would require approval from a special three-judge panel to ensure oversight and accountability.
If approved by the upper house and signed into law, the government will launch a tender process for the surveillance technology. Monitoring is expected to begin in 2027.
Melissa Enoch
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