A German federal authority may continue to warn against products from the Russian software manufacturer Kaspersky. The virus protection specialists had gone before the Federal Constitutional Court, which does not yet see itself as having jurisdiction. The company sees itself affected in essential fundamental rights.
The Russian manufacturer Kaspersky has failed before the Federal Constitutional Court with a constitutional complaint against the warning from the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) about its virus protection software. The court did not accept the complaint due to inadmissibility for decision, as announced on Friday in Karlsruhe. First of all – after urgent decisions have already been made – the decisions of the specialized courts in the main case would have to be awaited. (Az. 1 BvR 1071/22)
The BSI issued a warning about the software in mid-March, citing, among other things, the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. In view of Russian threats against the Federal Republic, the institute considered manipulation of the software or access to data stored by Kaspersky to be possible.
The German subsidiary of Kaspersky, on the other hand, appealed to the Cologne Administrative Court with an urgent application. This rejected the application. Four weeks later, the North Rhine-Westphalian Higher Administrative Court in Münster rejected an appeal against it, which could no longer be challenged in other courts.
Kaspersky then moved to Karlsruhe. The company alleged a violation of various fundamental rights. However, these did not refer to the urgent procedure, as the Federal Constitutional Court explained. It is not unreasonable for Kaspersky to “take legal action on the main issue”.
The company did not explain that it was threatened with irreparable damage, especially since the figures now presented on possible sales losses differed “considerably” from the figures given in the previous proceedings. Kaspersky had also submitted an urgent application in Karlsruhe, which the constitutional court declared to be settled because the constitutional complaint was not accepted. The BSI warning can therefore remain in place for the time being.
