Germany's Constitutional Court ruled last Wednesday on the issue of "cybermonitoring" (trojans) by Germany's domestic security services.

We've posted on the topic in the past:

     Should police hack?
     Poll Results - Should Police Hack?
     German Supreme Court Says No to Hacking

So how did the court rule on Wednesday? That depends on how you interpret the headlines.

From the New York Times:



From the International Herald Tribune (part of The NYT Company):



Hmm. "Permits Limited" and "rules against"… it's always been a complicated issue.

From an international German source, Deutsche Welle:



Basically the "decision voided a broadly formulated law in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which had explicitly allowed the use of Trojan software since January 2007."

But the decision allows Intelligence agencies "to collect data secretly from suspects' computer hard drives if there is evidence that [human lives or state property] are in danger."

"Law enforcement authorities must get permission from a judge before they secretly upload spyware."

What do you think of the ruling? Comments.