Under the new system, monitoring of a person’s messaging must be approved by a three-judge panel and should only apply to a limited number of cases. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner told the news conference it was only expected to be used on 25-30 people a year.

If it is more than 30, a report must be sent to a parliamentary committee, the government said, addressing concerns about mass surveillance and the infringement of people’s privacy.

“The police must have a well-founded suspicion of a possible terror attack” to monitor a person’s messaging under the new system, a government statement said.

Once parliament passes the legislation, a tender process for monitoring technology would be launched, and monitoring would begin in 2027, the government said.