January 27th, 2012
The prohibition of Hitler’s infamous work is a symbolic measure that has lost all impact, says Daniella Peled
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Tags: Tags: Germany, Hitler, Holocaust Memorial Day, Mein Kampf,
September 12th, 2011
Facebook has agreed to work with the German government on a code of conduct aimed at privacy protection. The code, agreed at a meeting on Wednesday between German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich and Facebook’s director of policy in Europe, Richard Allen, will cover issues such as media literacy and data transmission in accordance with German law. The agreement follows discussions around Facebook’s adherence to German data protection laws. Last month, Thilo Weichert, a data protection commissioner in Northern Germany, claimed Facebook’s “Like” button violated German data protection laws.Tags: Tags: code of conduct, Facebook, freedom of speech, Germany, privacy, social media,
February 22nd, 2011
Marcus Hellwig and Jens Koch, the German journalists imprisoned in Tabriz have been released, after the government reduced their 20 month sentences for reporting on the case of a Iranian woman sentenced to death for adultery in 2006. The German chancellor, criticism of the foreign minister’s meeting with Iranian president, saying it was necessary to secure the journalists’ release.February 16th, 2011
David Beckham’s libel case against In Touch magazine has been thrown out of an American court. Beckham brought the £15.5m lawsuit over an article which alleged that he had paid for sex with a prostitute. He sought USD25m in compensation. The judge accepted that the article was innaccurate but could not establish malice on the facts of the case. This is required under US law, although a German court has found in their favour and awarded damages. He intends to appeal the decision.Tags: Tags: David Beckham, Germany, libel, USA,
February 9th, 2011
Video game Bulletstorm will be released in heavily-censored form in Germany. Regulators will remove several features from the full version, including blood, dismemberment and “ragdoll effects”. This censorship will be imposed even though the game has attracted a USK18+ certificate. Germany has previously considered introducing a national ban on violent games, but this plan was ultimately aborted.Tags: Tags: Bulletstorm, censorship, Germany, videogame,
October 25th, 2010
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), Britain’s privacy watchdog, has reopened its investigation into Google Street View after the company admitted it copied personal data. Google is facing similar pressures from privacy watchdogs in other countries, including Spain, Germany, and Canada. In May, the ICO had investigated revelations that Google had gathered unprotected information but it concluded that no “significant” personal details had been collected. The renewed scrutiny stems from Google’s admission, following analysis by other privacy bodies, that they had harvested more information than previously thought.Tags: Tags: Canada, Germany, Google, Google street view, Information Commissioner's Office, Spain, UK,
September 13th, 2010
Over 7,500 people joined a rally in Berlin on 12 September to appeal for greater data privacy. The demonstration expressed concerns about a government database that will collect information about wages, taxes and social payments. Under the banner “Liberty instead of Fear!” they also denounced a new agreement that allows US authorities to access European banking data for anti-terror investigations.August 27th, 2010
A proposed data privacy law could prevent companies from checking potential employees’ Facebook profiles. Employers will be allowed to search applicants on Google, but the use of social networking sites in the selection process will be banned. The new legislation will also require companies to notify employees about any monitoring of telephone calls or emails. The German cabinet is set to approve the law on 25 August.Tags: Tags: Facebook, Germany, Google street view, Internet censorship, privacy,
