Posts Tagged ‘Germany’
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.
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.
July 29th, 2009
German government plans to ban violent videogames will have to be put on hold, after a successful internet petition by German gamers. The e-petition, hosted on the official forums of the Bundestag, the German parliament, has passed the 50,000 signatures necessary to force a government review. Last month the country’s 16 interior ministers called for a ban on the creation and distribution of games involving violent acts against human or human-like characters. Read more
here
July 27th, 2009
Jürgen Rieger, the vice-president of Germany’s far right NDP party, has submitted plans to open a museum intended to celebrate the Third Reich’s “Strength through Joy” programme. But critics have accused Rieger of using the museum as a way to spread pro-Nazi propaganda. Ralf Schmidt, a spokesman for the city, said: “We will use every legal means at our disposal to stop this from becoming a reality.”
Read more
here
July 24th, 2009
German prosecutors have decided to take no action against an artist who created a garden gnome raising its right arm in a Nazi salute. They say the gold-painted gnome was mocking the Nazis rather than promoting their return. However, the prosecutors in Nuremburg, warned against any attempt to copy the idea behind the exhibit. Read more
here
July 20th, 2009
A garden gnome giving the Nazi salute has landed a German artist in trouble with the authorities in Nuremberg. Prosecutors are investigating whether the gnome, which went on show in one of the city’s galleries, breaks the strict law banning Nazi symbols and gestures. The 59-year-old artist, Ottmar Hoerl, has been president of Nuremberg’s Academy of Fine Arts since 2005. Read more
here
June 22nd, 2009
A Social Democrat member of the Reichstag has moved to the Pirate Party in a protest against web censorship legislation, becoming the party’s first MP in the process. Read more
here
