440,000 Signatures and Counting: German Transparency Law Under Fire as Coalition Splits Over Reforms

Proposed amendments to Germany's Freedom of Information Act spark massive opposition, with over 400,000 petition signatures and 115 organizations demanding the government scrap the plans.

A push to drastically rewrite Germany’s Freedom of Information Act has drawn an unprecedented backlash, with an online petition crossing 440,000 signatures by July 9 and more than 115 organisations demanding the government scrap its plans. The coalition’s own ranks are fracturing over the proposed curbs.

At the heart of the dispute is a set of amendments recommended by the coalition committee on July 2. Under the current law, any person — the so-called “Jedermannsrecht” — can request information from federal authorities. The new draft would require applicants to demonstrate a legitimate interest, limit requests to natural persons (effectively excluding NGOs and media associations), and remove the existing 500-euro fee cap in favour of a cost-recovery principle. Routine redactions of names and new blanket exemptions for entire policy areas are also on the table.

The Union parties argue the changes are necessary because the number of requests has exploded, straining administrative budgets. SPD politicians focused on domestic security, meanwhile, point to a risk of espionage through abusive queries. But that rationale has failed to unite even the governing coalition.

On July 8, the SPD parliamentary group released a position paper flatly rejecting any reduction in transparency levels. Party digital experts warned that the proposed overhaul would amount to a de facto repeal of the law, urging instead a digitisation of processing workflows. That same day, Federal Justice Minister Hubig announced she would scrutinise the plans critically, stressing that the Freedom of Information Act is fundamental to democracy and media work. She has yet to meet with the interior minister to discuss the matter.

The broad alliance opposing the reform includes the German Newspaper Publishers Association (BDZV), the Media Association of the Free Press, and Human Rights Watch. In an open letter also dated July 8, they called the proposals an attack on press freedom and a major democratic setback. They recalled that the act was instrumental in exposing previous scandals — from the mask procurement affair to irregularities in motorway toll projects — and warned that restricting access to natural persons would cripple investigative work by associations and newsrooms.

FragDenStaat, a transparency watchdog that published an internal government paper on the planned changes, described the proposal as the most severe assault on state transparency since the law was enacted. The federal government is expected to present a concrete bill by the end of the year.