German police spied on their Web visitors

BERLIN, March 24 (UPI) -- Germany's Interior Ministry has stopped the Federal Criminal Police Office, or BKA, from spying on visitors of its Web site.

The BKA since 2001 stored the IP addresses of individuals who had repeatedly clicked on wanted lists it publishes on its Web site. After the German Justice Ministry protested, the Interior Ministry, led by Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, ordered the BKA to stop the measure, German newsmagazine Der Spiegel reports.

The Justice Ministry had argued that the secret data collection interfered with the individuals' privacy rights.

The BKA since January is legally entitled to spy on an individual's personal computer in connection with anti-terror investigations. It can collect phone, e-mail and picture data but is barred from snooping on the remainder of the hard drive.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives have long fought for expanding the office's online investigation powers.