German government tightens rules for sensitive public IT contracts

The German government has tightened tender rules for sensitive public IT contracts in the wake of reports about mass surveillance by the U.S. National Security Agency, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry said on Friday. Last year former NSA contractor Edward Snowden exposed U.S. technology companies' close cooperation with national intelligence agencies by leaking documents on the NSA's access to the accounts of tens of thousands of net companies' users. German Interior Ministry spokesman Johannes Dimroth said suspect firms would be banned from taking on some public contracts in Germany if they had to hand over confidential data to foreign intelligence or security services. If it turns out at a later point that firms do have such an agreement, German authorities can make use of a special right of termination.



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