alt Hacker NewsWait? They previously allowed everybody and their mother to request the information? Limiting it to ‘citizens of the european union’ seems eminently reasonable.
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Maybe, but the more problematic part is disallowing NGOs from submitting information requests. Multiple previous corruption scandals in Germany were exposed exactly because NGOs themselves were allowed to submit these information requests (and pay for them).
Such a restriction isn’t patently unreasonable but it would make it more difficult for foreign journalists to do research, and it would add the hassle of requiring individuals to show proof of residence when submitting a request. Anonymous requests under pseudonyms would become impossible.
For what it’s worth, only a handful of US states have a residency requirement for FOIA requests.
What about watchdog groups?
Not really.
The main "purpose" for such information is to be published, and at that point it makes no difference who exactly requested it.
Personal view:
The current mainly governing party in Germany (CDU/CSU) is a bunch of incompetent, nepotistic gerontocrats, and this change is mainly intended to make it harder for independent press to air their dirty laundry.
Just for reference: Approval rating for Merz (chancellor) is under 20% (!!); even Trump is >35%.
Won't this require citizen to provide ID and therefore citizens asking difficult questions could become a target for retaliation?
There is more to it. To request information you have to have some "legitimate interest" which is not yet defined and sounds like an easy way to not give out information.
Also no more NGOs. They were the ones who had the most power to wrestle information out of the hands of rather unwilling parties. The cost of going to court for this would deter most private persons.