Google draws line in privacy/anonymity sand - threatens no gmail if data retention is mandated

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Ethan Ackerman <eackerma () u washington edu>
Date: June 25, 2007 8:21:49 AM EDT
To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Google draws line in privacy/anonymity sand - threatens no  
gmail if data retention is mandated

According to a German business weekly's interview of Peter Fleischer,
Google's Global Privacy Counsel, Google "would shut off Google Mail in
Germany" before complying with the proposed German implementation of
the EU Data Retention law.

Google's opposition centers on the proposed German law's prohibition
of anonymity in account details and the German law's requirements that
data returned over to police not be anonymized (a practice Google does
with all search data after 18 months.)  Google supports anonymous
email and values its users' privacy, and Gmail would rather not
provide service to one market than have a loss of trust in every
market, according to the interview.


(Two major German news magazines, Heise and Spiegel, provide English
coverage of the original WiWo article in German.)

http://www.wiwo.de/pswiwo/fn/ww2/sfn/buildww/id/126/id/280127/fm/0/SH/ 
0/depot/0/index.html

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,490492,00.html

http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/91681


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