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A 2022 European Parliament study reported that Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) bought Pegasus and used it in roughly half a dozen cases involving suspected terrorism and organized crime. But Germany’s public written parliamentary answer did not directly confirm that acquisition or use: it confirmed that a federal agency had contact with Pegasus maker NSO Group for market research, while withholding operational details.
What Germany’s official answer confirms
In its answer to Bundestag question 19/31809, transmitted on September 1, 2021, the federal government said the Central Office for Information Technology in the Security Sector (ZITiS) had been in contact with NSO Group Technologies Limited since 2018. The purpose was to review the company’s product portfolio and assess whether it might be suitable for federal security authorities.
The answer did not publicly say whether federal authorities acquired NSO products, identify any products acquired, or disclose how often they were used. The government said such information could reveal operational methods and capabilities. That makes the confirmed market contact distinct from confirmation of a purchase or deployment. Read the government’s Bundestag answer.
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What was reported about BKA use
A 2022 European Parliament study summarized contemporaneous German media reporting and parliamentary discussion that the federal government had purchased Pegasus and that the BKA used it in roughly half a dozen cases involving suspected terrorism and organized crime. The figure is an approximate account attributed to the study, not a case count disclosed in the government’s written answer. See the European Parliament study.
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A 2023 draft compromise report by the European Parliament’s PEGA committee also summarized the government’s position on statutory limits for Pegasus use. It provides later context, but does not replace the primary written answer or turn the reported case count into an official statistic. Read the PEGA committee draft report.
What officials said in public briefings
July 19, 2021: operational details withheld
At a government press conference, Interior Ministry spokesperson Steve Alter declined to discuss which software security authorities used. He said serious telecommunications surveillance required judicial authorization. Asked specifically whether German federal authorities used Pegasus, he did not add to the government’s prior answer.
“Ich kann mich generell zu operativen Details der Arbeit unserer Sicherheitsbehörden ‑ etwa mit welcher Software wie gearbeitet wird – nicht äußern.”
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Translation: “I cannot comment generally on operational details of the work of our security authorities—for example, which software is used and how.” Read the July 19 briefing transcript.
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July 21, 2021: legal limits and oversight
Government spokesperson Martina Fietz said surveillance measures by German security authorities take place under statutory conditions and within prescribed limits. She added:
“Zudem unterliegt die Datenverarbeitung der deutschen Sicherheitsbehörden auch der Kontrolle unabhängiger Gremien.”
Translation: “In addition, data processing by German security authorities is also subject to the control of independent bodies.” The briefing described oversight but did not confirm Pegasus use. Read the July 21 briefing transcript.
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The government described telecommunications interception and online searches as technology-neutral powers. Its answer said they could be used only in individual cases, under strict legal conditions, to protect high-ranking legal interests or investigate serious or particularly serious crimes. It cited, among other provisions, sections 100a and 100b of the Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO), sections 49 and 51 of the Federal Criminal Police Office Act (BKAG), and provisions of the G-10 Act. See the legal-framework details in the government answer.
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Those general rules do not establish that a particular Pegasus operation met every legal requirement. The public answer does not provide the case-specific facts needed to assess any individual deployment.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the government’s other statements are not a blanket denial
The answer said the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) had found no indications of NSO surveillance products in its regular review of cyberattacks against federal administration systems. It also said the government had no knowledge responsive to certain questions about people in Germany being spied on with Pegasus. These statements are limited to the questions and time covered by the answer; they do not establish that Pegasus was never used or that no one in Germany was targeted. See the relevant parliamentary question and answer.
The distinction matters: the written record confirms contact between ZITiS and NSO Group, while leaving acquisition and operational details undisclosed. The reported BKA use comes from the European Parliament study’s account of contemporaneous reporting, not an explicit public confirmation in that answer.
The Constitutional Court decision is broader context, not a Pegasus ruling
In a June 8, 2021 decision, Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court addressed the state’s responsibility to help protect information-technology systems from third-party attacks. It discussed the tension that can arise when police have an interest in keeping an undisclosed vulnerability available for source telecommunications surveillance, and said rules are needed to resolve that conflict.
The decision concerns vulnerability management and constitutional protections for the confidentiality and integrity of IT systems. It did not rule on Pegasus procurement, BKA operations, or the legality of any particular Pegasus deployment. Read the Federal Constitutional Court decision.
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