Stasi 2.0

Short description: Political catchphrase

The phrase Stasi 2.0 is the catchphrase of a civil rights campaign in Germany .

The term originated in the blogosphere, combining the name of East Germany's former Ministry of State Security, commonly known as the "Stasi", with the concept of software versioning as used in the popular phrase "Web 2.0". The implication is that Stasi 2.0 is the modernized, updated and contemporary successor (or "version" in the software usage) of Stasi. The campaign focuses on the proposals of Wolfgang Schäuble, at that time Secretary of the Interior of Germany. Schäuble then proposed a preemptive security strategy, which critics contend bears similarities to the practices of the Stasi, but using current technology. His most disputed ideas involve his proposals for telecommunications data retention, his proposal to legalize military action of the Bundeswehr inside German borders, and his support for covert "online searches" of suspects' computer equipment. His latest proposal in particular has met stiff opposition from many prominent German netizens, as well as the Chaos Computer Club.

Though Schäuble claims his proposals serve to protect a "Right to Security"[citation needed], no such right is recognized under the German constitution.[citation needed][1]

The phrase Stasi 2.0 has been used by protestors criticising Barack Obama by likening him to a Stasi figure in The Lives of Others during the 2013 mass surveillance disclosures about the involvement of the National Security Agency in monitoring German communications, including those of chancellor Angela Merkel.[2][3]

## Criticism

One Leipzig-based shirt printing service refused at first to print the trademark image of the campaign, claiming the campaign to be libelous, but later did print it.[4]

In August 2013, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the newspaper Die Zeit that she rejected the comparison between the American National Security Agency and the Stasi, suggesting that the comparison trivialises what state security did to people in East Germany.[5] When it was made public that the NSA had been tapping her own personal mobile phone, Merkel reversed her position, stating to President Obama, "This is like the Stasi."[6]

## References

1. ↑ Kaponyi, Elisabeth. "Upholding human rights in the fight against terrorism". Society and Economy.
2. ↑ "European officials lash out at new NSA spying report". CBS News. CBS/AP. June 30, 2013. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/european-officials-lash-out-at-new-nsa-spying-report/.
3. ↑ Miller, Barbara (25 October 2013). "German chancellor Angela Merkel says US spying is an unacceptable breach of trust". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-25/angela-merkel-obama-nsa-spying-spies-espionage/5044760.
4. ↑ "Die Vorwahl der anderen – Spreadshirt spendet Datenschützern". Spreadshirt (Press release) (in Deutsch). July 16, 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
5. ↑ Donahue, Patrick (August 10, 2013). "Merkel Rejects NSA Comparison With Communist East German Stasi". Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-07-10/merkel-rejects-nsa-comparison-with-communist-east-german-stasi.
6. ↑ Traynor, Ian; Lewis, Paul (17 Dec 2013). "Merkel compared NSA to Stasi in heated encounter with Obama". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/17/merkel-compares-nsa-stasi-obama.

## External links

* Interview with Markus Beckedahl (blogger and supporter of Stasi 2.0; German)
* German Authorities Investigate Surveillance Leaks \- Electronic Frontier Foundation, 22 July 2015
* German spy leaks website being investigated \- BBC News, 30 July 2015

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