The use of computerised data analysis, a tool created by Palantir Technologies PLTR.N that German police used to deter and combat crime, has been ruled unlawful by a court.

The court ruled that the laws governing the use of the software in Hesse and Hamburg clearly violated the right to informational self-determination.

The German Society for Civil Rights (GFF) filed the suit.

In response, the court annulled the legislation in Hamburg, where they had yet to launch the digital tool, and gave Hesse until September 30 to revise its rules.

“Given the particularly broad wording of the powers, in terms of both the data and the methods concerned, the grounds for interference fall far short of the constitutionally required threshold of an identifiable danger,” VOA quoted the court’s ruling.

Stephan Harbarth, the court official said, states could opt for “shaping the legal basis for further processing of stored data files in a constitutional manner.”

The Minister of Interior in Hesse, Peter Beuth, said the crime-identifying software was useful in investigating the backroom networks that planned to oust the present government.

Palentir’s chief strategist for Europe, Jan Hiesserich, defended the company by arguing that it was only accountable for creating the data-processing software and would not be held liable for the data that its customers processed.

“Which data is relevant for investigation in this context is determined exclusively by our customers in accordance with relevant legal provisions,” Mr told the Handelsblatt newspaper.