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Angela Merkel Tells US Firms To Meet German Privacy Rules
judgecorp writes "Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel has given her backing to proposed European privacy regulations and demanded that U.S. firms should meet German privacy rules. Merkel's stance comes as U.S. firms lobby against strict E.U. privacy proposals — but also follows revelations from Edward Snowden through German newspaper Der Spiegel, that the German authorities are helping the NSA spy on German citizens."
My reading on that is that *if* the new European Commission data privacy rules get passed, then Germany would expect US firms to abide by those rules *for citizens of the EU*. Seems quite reasonable, actually.
Basically it's just an extension of the fact that those same US firms already have to comply with existing privacy rules in various countries around the world. (I seem to recall Google having to blur faces and license plates when it launched Street View in Canada...)
This is Merkel. She's the epitome of leading from the back. First, she checks where the masses are running, then she overtakes them, puts herself on the front of the movement and screams "follow me!"
So by definition it takes her a while to find out where everyone is running, she really doesn't want to start early and follow... erh, lead an agenda that doesn't have enough voters behind it.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
The same government that brought us the "Bundestrojaner" (a trojan to be employed by law enforcement), that did pretty much anything to create Stasi 2.0 is now complaining about someone else doing it to them.
Mrs. Merkel, meet Mr. Kettle.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
This still sounds better than what we have in the US, where the politicians close their eyes, run for awhile, then declare "This is what you asked for! No, I'm not going to come all of the way back there...do you realize how far I ran?"
If American laws apply in the EU, then EU laws should apply in the US.
I'll take a leader who leads people places they want to go over leaders that go wherever the hell they want any day of the week.
In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
Are you kidding? Every legislator has 20/10 vision when it comes to seeing the money special interests hand out like water for re-elections. Those who claim to recognize it, however are apparently unable to recognize to the paid shills who show up at their doorstep to feed them "well researched" bullshit that is biased towards the shill's handlers. Corrupt or stupid, but certainly not blind.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
This is Merkel. She's the epitome of leading from the back. First, she checks where the masses are running, then she overtakes them, puts herself on the front of the movement and screams "follow me!"
So by definition it takes her a while to find out where everyone is running, she really doesn't want to start early and follow... erh, lead an agenda that doesn't have enough voters behind it.
This is basically what democracy should be about: doing what the people want.
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They can only do this while the US company has some sort of presence in Europe.
As internet speeds increase, the need for a physical presence will disappear.
Good luck getting Google or Facebook to comply if all their datacenters and business locations are only in the US.
Europeans will still want to use the services, so that will be interesting.
If you ignore ACs because they are anonymous - you're an idiot.
Says you. .by at least one person
Not everyone agrees with you.
His name has been put up for the Nobel Peace Prize as of today,
As a US citizen, I applaud him, and think the traitors and criminals are holding gov't. offices.
Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
I agree fully, a while back my district had a politician that would run polls for nearly every issue that came up and would even vote against his preference if there was a strong feeling from his constituency. He was branded a flip-flop politician, which I thought was pretty unfair. I personally felt that asking those whom you represent what they think you should say and acting on that information is what a good representative should be doing.
We are complying with GFR privacy rules and more, by directly spying on your citizens and ours, so you don't have to do it for us.
Sincerely, Redacted.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
It's almost like she's doing what politicians are meant to be doing –representing their constituent's views!
Woe betide the politician who actually finds out what their constituents views are before deciding what to do!
I'm pretty sure that's the point of representative government....
In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
So she's a democratically elected politician. What's your point? Politicians *never* lead any major changes, and are frequently changing policies in reflection of a change in the desires of the electorate that happened 5-10 years earlier.
I am officially gone from
Scum bag. Yes
Criminal. Probably.
Traitor. No
Time to offend someone
So a German visits my site. 3 years later I learn I have a default judgement against my site in Germany. What do I care?
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Scum bag. Yes
How do you figure that part? There are certainly a number of more profitable things he could have done with this information instead, so he definitely acted selflessly (regardless of whether it was or was not legal and regardless whether you agree with his actions).
This ought to be a requirement.
Sure, the poll would need some form of authentication so that labor unions and big business can't hire hordes of minions to stuff the electronic ballot box.
But given that, any vote against majority wishes should be published, and the legislator should have to account for it. The majority isn't always right, but they are always the majority, and if you can't get them to elect you in spite of the fact they occasionally have to be ignored, then you probably shouldn't be running.
Voters are actually mature enough to be told why they couldn't have everything their way, and why new taxes might actually be needed.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
ACTA - we have to thank the, otherwise corporation-loving conservative block for not having it
That's a big fat lie. The vast majority of the votes in favor of ACTA came from the EPP, the conservatives. With just one exception, S&D voted against ACTA.
Nope, that is actually the definition of opportunistic behaviour. In a democracy, in theory we transfer power to people we have elected for certain goals and values. If I wanted a flag hanging in the wind, parties would become obsolete.
The more pressure the US gets from all angles on these types of issues, the better.
When it comes down to it, as long as the system provides the means to demand courses be reversed if they are going wrong in a timely manner, even an insane population should still be workable. The trick is to educate them on the issues, not just ask really vague poll questions.
In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
So a German visits my site. 3 years later I learn I have a default judgement against my site in Germany. What do I care?
Depends how you found out... If you found out during your vacation on the Rhine, you'll probably care.
But not as much as you'd care if it was a Frenchman visits your site and you find out while you're on the Seine.. because French repercussions for contempt of court are pretty heavy handed, especially for foreigners.
The trick is to educate them on the issues...
Not so... The 'trick' is to appeal to basic instincts. That is how you win.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
That's dependent upon who is doing the tricking, of course.
In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
Extradited for a civil judgement?
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Why would I visit frogland? Perhaps changing planes. You also assume I registered the site in my name.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Excepept its usually morea bunch of sheep and a few wolves except the wolves work to convince the sheep the wolves are actually sheepdogs and if a few sheep were to disappear... the remaining sheep are told its because they didn'tlisten to the wolves, er sheepdogs.
Doesn't that make them trip and fall when the weight in their hands gets too much?
Your thin skin doesn't make me a troll
That's why we're migrating away from an actual cash based system...all they have to carry is a credit card.
So by definition it takes her a while to find out where everyone is running, she really doesn't want to start early and follow... erh, lead an agenda that doesn't have enough voters behind it.
Championing the agenda of voters is exactly what politicians should be doing! Why would you want them leading an agenda that voters don't want?
Except that this is only the show.
The real politics of the current government are... let's just say they are so deep in certain lobby and interest group pockets, it isn't even funny anymore. If someone had done a satire about this ten years ago, I don't think anyone would have printed it because it would've sounded too outlandish and overdone.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
Transporters and Tractor Beams have yet to be invented.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Parties are obsolete. We don't need 'sides' to get behind and we don't need some arbitrary party organization dictating the policies of those 'sides' to the elected officials belonging to those parties. Our elected officials were elected to represent the will of the will of the people and I don't believe many people would argue that this is what our politicians are currently doing or have done for quite some time. Two party politicians get elected based upon their campaign's stated goals and somehow everyone turns a blind eye when almost immediately the stated goals of their official change because he/she is 'on their side'.
Instead of a flag hanging in the wind, how about not supporting one of the big two? Instead, we might all have to actually pay attention to the politics of the candidates we elect and the candidates might actually have to act on what they say in order to even get elected...you know - how it should be according to the idealistic definition of democracy that you have. Seems more educated and enlightened a way to do things than to just know that you are a democrat or a republican and therefore that is just how you vote. In a society in which we intentionally launch objects and vehicles into space and control scientific research vessels remoly on OTHER PLANETS, shouldn't we all have to progress together instead of electing people who 'just know what to do' so that we can avoid the added stress of having to pay attention to what the fuck is going on? Er wait...that cuts into my (social trend following and facebook updating/beer drinking and nascar) time...nevermind, fuck that shit.
Weren't there lawsuits filed against Google and Yahoo! in the USA and EU for them turning over data on Chinese dissidents to China's Government. Yes, China's Government may be abusive, but it was required under Chinese law. Why is it important for Google to adhere to Germany's laws but not to China's laws? If Germany's privacy laws require Google to do things that violate America's FISA laws, who's to say who has primacy? If anything, the fact that the majority of Google's servers are in America probably means American law will hold more sway.
The Gospel according to lolcat
I agree fully, a while back my district had a politician that would run polls for nearly every issue that came up and would even vote against his preference if there was a strong feeling from his constituency. He was branded a flip-flop politician, which I thought was pretty unfair. I personally felt that asking those whom you represent what they think you should say and acting on that information is what a good representative should be doing.
Conversely, in my state (Colorado) the Senate President, John Morse (D) did TV interviews and spoke with other legislative Democrats about the importance of "not listening to the ugliness" when it appeared that some of his gun control proposals were extremely unpopular. He pushed them forward anyway. He narrowly won his seat last time (thanks to a 3rd party) and roughly half of those who voted in the last election signed petitions to trigger a recall against him (only 25% was required). It now looks like he and another state senator are probably going to be recalled after he pushed his party to ignore the public.
The Gospel according to lolcat
The trick is to educate them on the issues
If the last US election taught us anything, I'd say the trick is to simply promise them free crap.
The Gospel according to lolcat
All the politicians in the EU were quite vocal about US spying activities until their respective intelligence agencies took them aside and explained that they were doing the same thing and routinely request US collected data for their own purposes. It seems the whole world is in shock after learning that intelligence agencies actually spy. I wish the people "leaking information" would leak something about what really happened in Roswell, NM and who really killed JFK. Think of the mayhem that information would unleash.
No, those on top have had significant practice in that discipline and a world-class athletes. Grassroots guys on the other hand do that all the time.
N.B. Many in Germany know and feel a social responsibility for the abuses that can come from those making lists. Others should take a lesson.....
The world should pay attention.
Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't. Mark Twain.
Well, it would be interesting to see the introduction of the Flipflop Party (their animal could be a fish) that espoused no particular goal other than empowering the will of the people (by way of internet polls).
What could possibly go wrong?
"The Adobe Updater must update itself before it can check for updates. Would you like to update the Adobe Updater now?"
political scientists in germany call her and the current government the worst ever. see nothing, do nothing, know nothing. election in 2 months. means every spoken word is BULLSHIT. her party members in the EU allready follow her real agenda in this matter.
Whatever you import from wherever needs to comply with some local regulation.
From ham to cars, from iPhone warranty to software EULAs.
This article looks more like flame bait than actual news!
Sent as ripples into the electromagnetic field. No single photon has been harmed in the process.
Those that actually care about the world that our own or even your grandchildren will live in will provide for them. You can go on with your meaningless life secure in the idea that you just didn't have the time to make it worth anything at all.
"The Adobe Updater must update itself before it can check for updates. Would you like to update the Adobe Updater now?"
civil? it's criminal court, pursued by state...
not that it would go to that if you didn't do lot of business in eu. but practically are these big companies(big enough to be on nsa calling list) are doing a lot of business in eu.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
You end up like California where the public votes for no taxes and a completely government provided existence ... then wonders why it fails to work.
Direct democracy is a really stupid idea.
Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
Well, Merkel, too, prefers to run to where the money is. But she also knows that she doesn't just have 2 terms, and as long as she can stay in office there's always another time to cash in.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
In theory, yes. In practice, please inform me what we need the overpaid ugly face for.
Running where I wanted to go is something I learned a few decades ago, I don't need her for that.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
This is maybe the best analysis of current politics that I've read in a long time.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Lets make more summits and then grandly announce "on the major theme we were of the same opinion" ... and two weeks later do exactly the opposite
I want her to lead an agenda, no doubt about that. But I do expect a politician to have an idea what they're doing. With her, you usually get the idea that she has NO idea what's going on and she's waiting for the newspapers to cause a stink, waits for the reaction from population and other media, then regurgitates whatever she heard there.
That's not a leader, sorry.
It's also nothing I can trust. You should have seen her during the change in Egypt. Depending on where the wind is blowing she supported, opposed, supported and opposed the old regime and later the government that was recently ousted.
That's nothing I can rely on. I cannot trust her to actually go through with the agenda, she might just as well just cause a huge stink now because there's a lot of talk in the newspapers and she just waits for it all to blow over, then go back to her own Stasi 2.0 project.
It's like back with the nuclear disaster in Japan. Continuing vs. stopping to use nuclear power was a big issue in Germany back then, and her party was originally strongly for continued use. With the pressure, she suddenly decided that she really wants to get out of nuclear power, better sooner than later. Guess what? You don't hear jack about that anymore. It's just not an issue anymore.
And I do not doubt that this is going to be the same gambit. Tell the people what they want to hear, make a huge deal out of it and waggling the finger at the bad, bad US, then wait for a few months 'til it blows over, then get back to business as usual.
That's Merkel.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
US companies are expected to follow the laws of the country they work in. So if they work in the US, even with data from the EU, they are expected to offload anything to any government organisation without asking questions. "for citizens of the EU" is meaningless. Data is data. People are just resources.
Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
I think Merkel deserves a statue in Berlin, not because I like her CDU politics ( I don't) but because she managed to be a hard-working and conscientious(sp?) leader of the Germans in one of the most difficult periods after WWII. Now I'm going to say something sexist, weird and irrational, so you can have a laugh if you disagree.
The fact that she's a woman is, in my honest opinion, of crucial importance in how the credit crisis developed in the EU. Whenever there's a big crisis, the demagogues in every country rise up and try to sway the people with their (usually macho) rhetoric. These are very, very good at politics, at pointing out the errors of the power elite. They may not always have their own solutions, but count on their macho TV imago to do the work. This is especially the case in the appeal to visceral nationalistic feelings; tickling the electorate "it's all the fault of Europe and Germany that we're now so poor! kick the government out and vote for me!".
In the Greek media, Merkel was depicted as wearing a Nazi uniform: "it's all the fault of those bloody German Nazis! Look what they turned our lovely country into!". This has had a certain effect, but the Greek government crawls onward toward solution of their tax problems and Golden Dawn didn't win the election.
I firmly believe this is because of Frau Merkel. She managed to absorb a lot of the hate and didn't reflect it back. I strongly invite you to do the following
Gedankenexperiment
Imagine, that during 2008-2012, Angela Merkel was not the bundeskänzlerin of Germany, but instead Silvio Berlusconi was magically German and had become the bundeskänzler.
Silvio with his macho laugh and attitude and (to him) funny sense of humour.
Are we in WW III yet?
And that's why Angela Merkel deserves a statue despite being a CDU politician: for keeping her country and the other EU countries intact and limping onward more or less functioning, she deserves great praise for keeping the sentiments and heads cool.
I believe it's partially because she looks like your mum (stern and money-worried) instead of your uncle (annoying, rich and a practical-joker).
To be, or not to be: isn't that quite logical, Slashdot Beta?
NO. All the eastern EU countries had the Stasi, Securitate etc. etc. up until the Wende in 1990. That's still in most people's living memory. They know what it leads, to and why they didn't like full-blown surveillance. That's almost half the EU you're talking about (not the Western Europe traditionally seen as "the EU" but still).
I think this situation is different than anything before, except for countries like the former GDR where it brings back memories of "the bad old times".
To be, or not to be: isn't that quite logical, Slashdot Beta?
So basically, waits to see if it's what the people she's supposed to be representing apparently want, and then takes up the charge to make it so...
and this is a bad thing, how?
Better than the standard "promises to do X and then sells out and does Y instead after getting into office" politician
The problem with Merkel is though: she leads us to places where she think the people want to go and after we just arrived there, she does a 180 degree turn and 'leads' us back to where we came from (sometimes even further).
While I admire people that are honestly able to admit an error, I despise people that seem to have no own opinion/conviction.
We have elections in September. Say I'd be interested in voting for her, who should I believe? The Merkel who almost immediately reversed the nuclear-power-exit strategy layed out and fixed in law by the former socialdemoctarts/green government. Or the Merkel that reversed the reverse after Fukoshima happened?
This is just one prominent example. She has changed her opinion on so many fields in the past, that menawhile even larger parts of her own party have a hard time to follow her around on each u-turn.
I'm not saying I support her specifically, just that I believe leaders in a representative government have a responsibility to listen to the will of the populace to some extent, and not just during elections with no intent of acting on it.
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Seems to work fine for Switzerland, though.
It's like back with the nuclear disaster in Japan. Continuing vs. stopping to use nuclear power was a big issue in Germany back then, and her party was originally strongly for continued use. With the pressure, she suddenly decided that she really wants to get out of nuclear power, better sooner than later.
That's good! Reacting to voter pressure is what a politician should do.
Guess what? You don't hear jack about that anymore. It's just not an issue anymore.
Just because it's not in the mainstream media doesn't mean it's not an issue and just because you aren't hearing about it doesn't nothing is being done, in fact they are being dismantled.
What about a situation where "the people" in general
(a) can't decide where they want to go, and
(b) if there is anything like a consensus, it's for something that is impossible, dangerous, or likely to be highly expensive and ineffective?
Sometimes, leaders need to ... well, lead.
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
I don't see how that applies here. You seem to be treating a general statement as if it were an absolute one.
In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!