When Google Pulls into Germany, German Consumers 'Putsch' Back

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The Federation of German Consumer Organizations ("FGCO") has threatened to sue Internet giant Google on September 4, unless the Mountain View, California-based company stops dispensing users' personal data without their consent, the India Times reports.

The FGCO issued a cease and desist letter to Google, which it claims automatically shares users' information with third-party applications without obtaining the users' explicit permission, according to the Times article. Google has run afoul of Germany's strict privacy laws before, as the German government previously compelled Google to offer its citizens the right to opt out of the company's Street View mapping program (see "TUOL" post 10/22/10).

244k Germans Say 'Nein' to Google Street Maps

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According to an Associated Press story, nearly 3 percent of urban dwellers in Germany's 20 largest cities want no part of Mountain View, Calif.-based Google's Street View program.


Among the 23 nations where Street View is available, only Germany has enabled its populace to opt out of the Google program that pictures homes on the Internet. Citing individuals' privacy concerns, German authorities insisted  that Google accept requests from citizens who did not want to participate in the mapping program.


When Street View goes online, those who do not want to participate--roughly 244,000 people by Google's estimate--will be provided a tool by Google that will make their homes unrecognizable.

Germany apparently has misgivings about a virtual invasion, a position that Poland, France and Belgium may find ironic.

Germany to Strengthen Protections for Journalists

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Germany's Cabinet intends to enact a law according greater protection to journalists who rely on confidential state informants, according to Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusseur-Schnarrenberger.

Presently, section 353b of the German Penal Code subjects individuals who betray state secrets to a maximum five years' imprisonment. Prosecutors have employed the statute, which the Cabinet plans to revise, to search and confiscate material from journalists, irrespective of whether the scribes are accused of wrongdoing.

According to Reporters Without Borders, Germany ranked 18th worldwide in press freedom in 2009, two slots higher than the U.S. (take that, 1st Amendment lovers).