Data protection - Grants Committee: Associations fear data protection issues
Multiple refugee aid organizations are concerned about the dissemination of personal data by members of the parliamentary Investigative Committee regarding funding practices at the Social Ministry. The committee would have extensive documents on funding procedures that contained data from over 1,000 individuals, according to the victim organization RAA Sachsen, the Saxon Refugee Council, and the Cultural Office Saxony in a statement. There is a concern for the safety of these individuals as data "could potentially end up in far-right networks." The AfD denied this.
Doubts about the silence of committee members
RAA Executive Director Andrea Hübler expressed doubts about the silence of the AfD. "Even though AfD parliamentarians in the committee are bound by confidentiality, this is not the first time such things have leaked out. Intimidation and attacks on civil society actors who advocate for democracy, refugees, and a diverse society are not uncommon in Saxony." The far-right scene has been collecting personal data for so-called enemy lists for years.
The organizations criticized a "lack of sensitivity of Saxon authorities for existing threat situations." The personal data in the documents were too sensitive and not relevant to the investigative committee's clarification of interests. In addition, they demanded information about the extent of the data that was given.
Hannah Franke, a member of the Refugee Council's board, said: "We find it more than difficult that we have not been informed until now about the extent to which documents were handed over."
AfD dismisses speculations
The AfD faction in the state parliament dismissed concerns. "The protection of personal data is self-evident at all times during this clarification," said faction spokesman Felix Menzel to the German Press Agency: "The investigative committee on the SPD funding pool is urgently necessary to clarify the unlawful granting of tax funds to the Saxon asylum industry in its entirety."
Social Minister Petra Köpping (SPD) was unfortunately unable to provide complete transparency and give detailed information about the influence of the ministry's top management.
Audit office had criticized funding practices
The investigative committee was set up in February at the behest of the AfD faction in the state parliament. The committee deals with the granting of funds to associations and initiatives of refugee aid in the years 2016 to 2019. The Audit Office of the Free State had already criticized the Social Ministry in a special report in 2023 for unlawful administrative conduct in "exceptional degree." They identified "conflicts of interest" and expressed "concerns about bias." Evidence for personal misconduct by Köpping was not found by the auditors.
- The Association of Refugee Aid Organizations in Saxony (RAA Sachsen) and the Cultural Office Saxony have raised concerns about the potential transfer of sensitive data related to funding practices at the Social Ministry to far-right networks, following allegations of data protection breaches by members of the Investigative Committee.
- The Executive Director of RAA Sachsen, Andrea Hübler, has criticized the silence of the AfD parliamentarians in the committee, who are bound by confidentiality, and mentioned past instances of leaked information and intimidation against civil society advocates.
- The refugee aid organizations have condemned the insensitivity of Saxony's authorities regarding the sensitive nature of the data, as well as the lack of clarity regarding the extent of data that was given to the committee.
- The AfD faction in the state parliament has dismissed concerns about data protection, stating that the protection of personal data is a priority during the clarification process of the alleged unlawful funding of refugee aid organizations and the Saxon asylum industry.
