Mexico's mandatory biometric ID requirement threatens freedom
Mexico is rolling out a biometric identity system reaching deep into citizens’ private lives – promising security and efficiency, …
Author
Peter Winnemöller
Sexuality and Gender Diversity: The Church Between Doctrine and Zeitgeist
The Catholic Church in Germany remains unsettled. Once again, a call for a change of course on gender diversity and sexuality has …
The gradual erosion of digital freedom
Not only authoritarian states tighten restrictions on the internet. Liberal democracies do the same. The starting point is usually…
Apple removes VPN apps, bolstering Russia’s internet crackdown
Apple’s removal of VPN apps from its Russian App Store underscores how global tech companies reinforce state censorship. As Moscow…
US pushes for access to Europeans’ fingerprints
The US is pressing the EU to share biometric data. What appears to be technical co-operation raises fundamental questions about pr…
Britain plans digital mass surveillance for the next pandemic
The next pandemic is considered inevitable. In the UK, plans include harvesting real-time location data. To believe such systems w…
The slow disappearance of Syria’s Christians
War has reduced Christians in Syria to a vanishing minority. The fall of Assad has brought no relief. Economic hardship and hostil…
Thou shalt not kill
The Church’s witness to life is unequivocal and clear. It can never be permissible to comply with a person’s wish to be killed. As…
Can Germany send back 80 per cent of Syrians?
Friedrich Merz floated sending back 80 per cent of Syrians in Germany, later attributing the figure to Syria’s president Ahmed al-…
Starmer’s next move to control the internet
The British prime minister seeks to empower the executive to impose online rules without parliamentary scrutiny. The move would ti…
Apple’s creeping surveillance in the UK
The iPhone, the Mac and the iPad are becoming instruments of surveillance in the United Kingdom. After an update, users must verif…
Hong Kong moves to compel password disclosure for digital devices
Hong Kong has granted authorities sweeping new powers to access digital devices without a warrant, raising fresh concerns over pri…
German government pushes for higher taxes
Despite an economic downturn, record revenues and record debt, the federal government is considering tax increases. Germany’s prob…
The landmark ruling against Meta and Google – and what follows
Tech companies can be held liable for the design of their products if they cause harm. For the first time, a court has ordered Met…
Canada plans mass surveillance law
In Canada, a proposed bill would require telecom firms to store customer metadata and provide it to the state on request – partly …
Decolonising Shakespeare: a job for Monty Python
A left-wing cultural elite seeks to diminish a great artist. William Shakespeare, who lived and wrote long before Britain’s coloni…
Speculation over VAT rise in Germany – government denies plans
A possible rise in value-added tax is unsettling consumers in Germany. It would hit low and middle incomes – the very groups the g…
VW: from people’s car maker to defence contractor?
The Volkswagen plant in Osnabrück, threatened with closure, could soon produce components for Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’. The crisis in …
Russia moves to cut off foreign websites
The internet in Russia is being reshaped into a government-controlled network. The country thus joins the ranks of authoritarian s…
Rising government spending in the EU erodes prosperity
The more the state takes from citizens in taxes and levies, the larger its share of the economy becomes. New figures from Eurostat…
Celebrity row over deepfakes – a scandal used to push new rules
A serious allegation of virtual sexual violence comes at a convenient moment for activists and the German government seeking broad…
Why age verification databases pose greater risks than governments realise
Age verification databases carry serious risks, from far-reaching state surveillance to the exposure of citizens’ personal data to…
Wrongly imprisoned – when facial recognition decides people’s fate
An AI error cost an innocent woman nearly six months in jail for a crime she did not commit. Facial recognition identified her as …
The Linux community clashes with new state rules
Politicians with little understanding of technology are putting free software at risk and unsettling open-source communities with …
Europe responds to soaring energy costs
Governments across Europe are taking action on high energy costs, though their approaches differ widely, with some opting for swif…
German chemical industry stuck in prolonged crisis
The German chemical industry, long a pillar of the country’s economy, remains under mounting pressure. New figures from the German…
‘We need more energy now – not only in 2040’
The U-turn by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on nuclear energy raises questions as Germany insists its nuclear…
Fewer church members do not mean fewer Christians
Every year Germany’s Catholic Church and Protestant churches publish new figures showing membership losses. The numbers make headl…
Child protection turns into digital ID checks in Florida
US states are following a global trend of restricting children’s access to social media. Yet the understandable aim of protecting …
Qatar arrests citizens over videos of rocket attacks
Qatar has arrested hundreds of people for filming missile attacks on the country, as authorities seek to retain control over infor…
Votes in the British House of Lords raise fears of a surveillance state
The upper house has backed measures that could turn the driving licence database into a facial recognition tool, prompting warning…
New UK internet laws raise fears of digital ID by the backdoor
Britain is pushing ahead with new internet rules that could require users to prove their identity online. Privacy advocates warn …
Germany left behind in nuclear power
In Paris, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signalled a major shift back towards nuclear energy in Europe. German…
The rise of de-Googling smartphones
Alongside Meta and Apple, Google is one of the world’s largest collectors of personal data. Most smartphones run Android, tying us…
Chile moves to ban surrogacy
A few weeks after Pope Leo XIV condemned surrogacy as a violation of human dignity, Chile has taken a major step towards banning t…
Chats can now be manipulated in real time
The online platform Roblox is introducing a system that alters undesirable expressions in chats in real time. What recipients read…
How to lose a supposedly safe election
Manuel Hagel lost the election – and rightly so. Lacking a clear profile, he treated his strongest rival with kid gloves while rul…
UK government tracks millions of phones to identify electric-car drivers
Britain’s Department for Transport secretly monitored smartphone movements with the help of network operators to identify potentia…
In California, your computer wants to know your age
Once again the protection of minors is being used to introduce new mechanisms of control. California plans to embed age verificati…
Mexico turns the smartphone into a glass telephone booth
Identifying and locating anyone who makes a phone call has long been the dream of every totalitarian system. Mexico is now moving …
Germany’s growing reliance on foreign doctors raises concerns
A quarter of doctors in Germany do not hold a German passport. Language barriers and questionable qualifications are only part of …
Iran war hits global supply chains
Air strikes on Iran and the response of the mullah regime are disrupting transport routes around the Persian Gulf, a region vital …
Climate lawsuit against Mercedes and BMW
In a civil action against German carmakers, the environmental NGO Deutsche Umwelthilfe is seeking to ban the production of interna…
Two rulings in favour of free speech
In recent years, courts have repeatedly sought to treat statements protected by freedom of expression as criminal offences. German…
Where is the Church in Germany heading?
The German Church stands perilously close to division. Deep rifts divide bishops and laity. The newly elected chairman of the Germ…
Treasurers outline proposals to curb bureaucracy
Bureaucracy has become an intolerable burden on the economy. Reporting and compliance obligations dominate the daily routine of bu…
A Catholic guide to Christian–Muslim dialogue in Germany
The German bishops have published a handbook intended to support dialogue with Muslims. The new brochure offers foundational insig…
Heiner Wilmer is new chairman of the German Bishops' Conference
A member of the Priests of the Sacred Heart has been elected chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference. Bishop Heiner Wilmer has …
Legal aftermath of a cold night on a plane
Several hundred passengers were forced to spend the night in Munich last week in unheated aircraft without food or blankets. The i…
European Parliament recognises anti-Christian hostility in the EU
Persecution of Christians in Europe has largely been ignored. The European Parliament is now, for the first time, acknowledging ‘C…