The German government’s reform package undermines the Freedom of Information Act and attacks press freedom

ECPMF is alarmed about the German government’s plans to reform the Freedom of Information Act (IFG). The proposed changes would make it considerably more difficult for journalists and civil society to access information about government activities. Access to free information is crucial for public interest journalism, and an important tool for investigative journalism. These changes increase the risk that corruption, the misuse of public funds and other forms of misconduct will remain unreported.

The reform package undermines the Freedom of Information Act in the following six ways:

1. The right to request information is to be restricted to “natural persons” only. For journalists, this means that editorial teams, investigative networks or other civil society organisations would no longer be able to submit requests in their own name. Freedom of Information Act requests often take months or even years to resolve in Germany. If an individual applicant is unable to continue the process for health, professional or other reasons, the request may lapse. This would make journalistic work considerably more difficult, particularly in the case of long-term investigative reporting.
2. Applicants will be required to demonstrate a “legitimate interest”. Under the current Freedom of Information Act, requests generally do not have to be justified. The public’s right to scrutinise government action should be sufficient justification in itself. Requiring applicants to justify their requests creates an additional barrier and makes it easier for public authorities to reject them.
3. Only German nationals and EU citizens resident in Germany are to be eligible to submit requests. In practice, this could mean that journalists living in exile, journalists on exchange programs, and all journalists living in Germany who are not EU citizens would be excluded from using the Freedom of Information Act. As a consequence, some of Germany’s most vulnerable journalist groups, including those in exile, would be excluded from access rights. It would also make it more difficult for journalists based in other EU Member States or in third countries to conduct cross-border investigations, while investigative journalism frequently relies on international collaboration.
4. The names of public sector employees are to be redacted. Protecting public employees from threats and harassment may be a legitimate and important objective. At the same time, government officials, by taking their official roles, should accept the position of higher public scrutiny, and the blanket redaction of names can undermine transparency and accountability. In cases involving corruption, nepotism or abuse of office, it can become significantly more difficult to establish who was responsible for official decisions.
5. Further exemptions from access to information are to be introduced. Under the banner of strengthening state resilience, information relating to critical infrastructure, counter-espionage, counter-terrorism and scientific research would be exempt from disclosure. While national security considerations may justify narrowly defined exemptions, the proposed expansion risks making it easier for public authorities to reject Freedom of Information Act requests and more difficult for journalists to scrutinise government action and public spending in these areas.
6. The fees for Freedom of Information Act requests are to be revised. Whereas fees have previously been capped at €500, public authorities would be given greater discretion to determine the costs of individual requests. Even today, fees represent a significant barrier, especially for freelance journalists and smaller newsrooms. Higher fees could have a chilling effect and make access to information increasingly dependent on an applicant’s financial means.

As the Media Freedom Rapid Response’s (MFRR) FOI report outlines, the German Freedom of Information Act already has significant shortcomings. In European comparison, it appears especially weak. A patchwork of federal and state legislation, lengthy processing times, high costs and broad exemptions already make it difficult for journalists to access information in the public interest.

This is not the first time German authorities try to further undermine this right. The MFRR’s Mapping Media Freedom (MapMF) database has registered previous attempts by the federal and Berlin government to attack the standing FOI law. During coalition talks in spring 2025, a leaked CDU-led working group paper already proposed the abolishment of the FOI law in its current form. Earlier this year, in March 2026, the Berlin Senate planned to restrict the Berlin law by introducing additional restrictions to information related to critical infrastructure. Despite widespread criticisms by journalist unions, associations, and civil societies, this June reform is a direct continuation of these previous attacks on the right to information.

The current reform proposals put forward by the Federal Government risk further hollowing out an already inadequate Freedom of Information Act. They would significantly reduce the transparency of government action, weaken the watchdog role of the press and undermine the public’s right to information.

Together, these changes constitute a serious threat to press freedom and democratic accountability in Germany.

The ECPMF calls on the Federal Government to:

• maintain and strengthen free and non-discriminatory access to public information;
• refrain from introducing additional barriers, such as requiring applicants to demonstrate a “legitimate interest”;
• refrain from adopting exclusionary policies that discriminate certain groups of journalists, such as non-EU journalists
• ensure that editorial teams and investigative journalism networks can continue to submit requests for information;
• keep exemptions narrowly defined, clearly justified and proportionate; and
• ensure that access to information is not restricted through higher fees or disproportionate costs.

This statement was coordinated by ECPMF as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries.