A Tool for Democratic Transparency

Interactive Surveillance Barometer goes online

May 22, 2026

six pressure vessels side by side (metering devices/meters are visible). — The Max Planck Institute has assessed the extent to which the state may digitally surveil its citizens. An interactive map now allows users to conduct their own research.

© devilmaya / Alamy Stock Photo

The Max Planck Institute has assessed the extent to which the state may digitally surveil its citizens. An interactive map now allows users to conduct their own research.

© devilmaya / Alamy Stock Photo

To the point:

Surveillance Barometer: The Max Planck Institute launched an interactive online platform showing how security agencies in Germany use covert surveillance powers, making this information transparent and accessible to the public.
Data and Scope: The platform currently covers 5,256 statutory surveillance powers across federal and state authorities, focusing on vulnerable areas like the private home, communication, mobility, public and digital spaces, and financial data.
Public Discourse: The Surveillance Barometer promotes an informed debate on government surveillance and supports democratic oversight.

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law presented the new dynamic online platform of the “Surveillance Barometer Germany” at the digital and society conference re:publica 26. The surveillance barometer is a long-term project of the Institute aimed at providing transparency regarding the type and frequency of covert surveillance measures carried out by security agencies. For the first time, the collected data has now been visually processed and can be filtered by federal state, area of life, and statutory powers. The researchers are certain that transparency regarding the nature and extent of state surveillance is an indispensable element of democracy.

The Surveillance Barometer Germany is a tool designed to capture and evaluate the surveillance powers and measures of the country’s security and law enforcement agencies. The reports having been published a year ago, a corresponding online platform has now been launched that features interactive surveillance maps (currently in German only). These maps enable citizens to easily and independently explore the statutory powers under which security agencies at both state and federal levels may conduct covert data collection and access private information.

Areas of life vulnerable to surveillance: the home, communication, mobility, and financial data

The database currently contains information on 5,256 statutory surveillance powers held by federal and state authorities. Key areas of life vulnerable to surveillance serve to structure the data: the private home, communication, mobility, public and digital spaces, and citizens’ financial data.

The current version 1.0 is the first phase of the platform. It reflects the state of the law as of the end of 2025. The information provided is regularly refined and updated annually. With the upcoming second phase, the normative intensity values for all surveillance powers will also be made available.

There are also plans to gradually incorporate information on the frequency of surveillance measures actually carried out in a third phase of the project. To this end, it is essential to first improve the statistical data collection practices of the authorities responsible for maintaining data.

The Surveillance Barometer is designed to provide a transparent, unbiased picture of the actual level of surveillance across Germany.

Ralf Poscher

“The Surveillance Barometer is designed to provide a transparent, unbiased picture of the actual level of surveillance across Germany,” says project leader Ralf Poscher, who unveiled the platform to the public for the first time at this year’s re:publica alongside senior researchers Michael Kilchling and Sabrina Ellebrecht. “The Surveillance Barometer can make a decisive contribution to making the social and (legal) political discourse more objective,” adds Michael Kilchling.