Section 202b German Criminal Code — Interception of Data

History & facts. Section 202b was introduced in 2007 together with Section 202c and covers the interception of data during its transmission — classically the eavesdropping on non-public communication, such as by tapping network traffic (sniffing). What is protected is the confidentiality of the transmission. The offence applies insofar as the act is not threatened with a more severe penalty in other provisions; the penalty range extends up to two years' imprisonment or a fine. Outlook & recommendation. As with Section 202a, authorisation is decisive: recording and analysing network traffic in one's own network for security and operational purposes is permissible — secretly intercepting third-party communication, by contrast, is punishable. With network observation (for instance to detect attacks), authorisation, purpose limitation and data protection must therefore be cleanly clarified. This is not legal advice; concrete cases belong in professional legal hands.