https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Germany in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed You can now download Germany's new coronavirus tracing app. Here's what to know about it. https://www.thelocal.de/20200616/11-things-to-know-about-germanys-newly-launched-coronavirus-tracing-phone-app-tracking Tue, 16 Jun 2020 12:14:01 +0200 11-things-to-know-about-germanys-newly-launched-coronavirus-tracing-phone-app-tracking Germany's Health Minister Jens Spahn says a mobile phone app to help trace coronavirus infections in a bid to keep the spread under control will be made available to the public in the coming days. https://www.thelocal.de/20200608/germany-gets-ready-to-launch-coronavirus-tracing-app Mon, 08 Jun 2020 10:46:55 +0200 germany-gets-ready-to-launch-coronavirus-tracing-app The German government has switched to backing a coronavirus-tracing app using technology supported by Google and Apple, ditching a German-led alternative that had come under fire over privacy concerns. https://www.thelocal.de/20200427/germany-switches-to-google-and-apple-on-coronavirus-tracing-app-over-privacy-concerns Mon, 27 Apr 2020 12:48:56 +0200 germany-switches-to-google-and-apple-on-coronavirus-tracing-app-over-privacy-concerns A man convicted of murder 37 years ago has the right to be forgotten and have his name removed from online search results, Germany's highest court ruled on Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.de/20191127/germanys-highest-court-backs-murderers-right-to-be-forgotten Wed, 27 Nov 2019 17:24:21 +0100 germanys-highest-court-backs-murderers-right-to-be-forgotten Millions of records belonging to patients worldwide, including X-Rays, mammograms and MRI scans, were long freely accessible online without basic security measures, German authorities said Tuesday after a media investigation. https://www.thelocal.de/20190917/german-probe-finds-millions-of-medical-records-freely-available-online Tue, 17 Sep 2019 18:50:42 +0200 german-probe-finds-millions-of-medical-records-freely-available-online A German data protection official has convinced Google to stop human workers from listening to audio recorded by its digital assistant across the EU, after a leak showed staff could hear private conversations. https://www.thelocal.de/20190802/germany-orders-google-to-stop-listening-in-on-audio-recordings Fri, 02 Aug 2019 17:00:40 +0200 germany-orders-google-to-stop-listening-in-on-audio-recordings The German state of Hesse has banned Microsoft's Office 365 software, in an example of how overly restrictive privacy laws can end up hurting students more than helping them. https://www.thelocal.de/20190731/opinion-hesse-privacy-ban-on-school-software-hurts-students Thu, 01 Aug 2019 01:31:12 +0200 opinion-hesse-privacy-ban-on-school-software-hurts-students Facebook must grant the parents of a dead girl access as heirs to their daughter's user account, which had been blocked for five and a half years, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) ruled on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.de/20180712/german-court-to-rule-on-parents-access-to-dead-daughters-facebook Thu, 12 Jul 2018 10:52:14 +0200 german-court-to-rule-on-parents-access-to-dead-daughters-facebook Germany's justice minister on Monday said Facebook should face "stricter" oversight and be more transparent with its users, as the tech giant struggles to contain the fallout from a huge data privacy scandal. https://www.thelocal.de/20180327/justice-minister Tue, 27 Mar 2018 10:45:44 +0200 justice-minister A German court has found Facebook is breaching data protection rules with privacy settings that over-share by default and by requiring users to give real names, a consumer rights organisation said Monday. https://www.thelocal.de/20180212/facebook-cant-force-germans-to-use-their-real-names-court-rules Mon, 12 Feb 2018 16:03:32 +0100 facebook-cant-force-germans-to-use-their-real-names-court-rules After a marathon sitting lasting the whole week, the German parliament (Bundestag) agreed upon a law on Friday that will relax restrictions on video surveillance in shops, stadiums and stations. https://www.thelocal.de/20170310/germany-passes-law-increasing-video-surveillance-in-public Fri, 10 Mar 2017 16:51:11 +0100 germany-passes-law-increasing-video-surveillance-in-public German data protection authorities on Tuesday said they had blocked Facebook from collecting subscriber data from its subsidiary WhatsApp, citing privacy concerns. https://www.thelocal.de/20160927/germany-blocks-whatsapp-data-transfers-to-facebook Tue, 27 Sep 2016 16:17:14 +0200 germany-blocks-whatsapp-data-transfers-to-facebook The Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv) has threatened legal action against WhatsApp for passing on user information such as telephone numbers to Facebook, which new user terms permit it to do. https://www.thelocal.de/20160920/whatsapp-faces-legal-action-for-passing-user-phonebooks-to-facebook Tue, 20 Sep 2016 12:56:24 +0200 whatsapp-faces-legal-action-for-passing-user-phonebooks-to-facebook The BND, Germany's version of the CIA, has been accused of massive breaches of the constitution in a leaked report by the government's representative for data protection. https://www.thelocal.de/20160902/german-secret-service-systematically-violating-constitution Fri, 02 Sep 2016 13:21:20 +0200 german-secret-service-systematically-violating-constitution Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière is set to publish a draft law on Thursday which would create major changes, including the abolition of dual citizenship and softening doctor-patient confidentiality rules. https://www.thelocal.de/20160810/interior-minister-to-propose-terrorism-security-law-isis Wed, 10 Aug 2016 13:41:41 +0200 interior-minister-to-propose-terrorism-security-law-isis Sixty percent of Germans think internet users should be forced to use their real name when leaving comments - but the response varies dramatically between different age groups. https://www.thelocal.de/20160721/majority-of-germans-want-real-names-to-be-compulsory-on-the-internet Thu, 21 Jul 2016 18:03:29 +0200 majority-of-germans-want-real-names-to-be-compulsory-on-the-internet The German High court has ruled that Facebook and other social networks which send invitations to join right to people’s inboxes are engaging in "unwanted and harassing" advertising. https://www.thelocal.de/20160115/high-court-scolds-facebook-for-sending-harassing-emails Fri, 15 Jan 2016 10:40:34 +0100 high-court-scolds-facebook-for-sending-harassing-emails A “humiliated and angry” German tourist is suing Airbnb after a hidden camera secretly filmed her over several days at a rented apartment. https://www.thelocal.de/20160114/german-woman-sues-airbnb-after-finding-hiding-camera-in-flat Thu, 14 Jan 2016 13:25:52 +0100 german-woman-sues-airbnb-after-finding-hiding-camera-in-flat US tech giant Microsoft has put new data centres in Germany under the control of Deutsche Telekom, the companies said on Wednesday, in a move that will keep privacy-sensitive Germans' customer data in the country. https://www.thelocal.de/20151111/microsoft-agrees-to-store-customer-data-in-germany Wed, 11 Nov 2015 16:09:07 +0100 microsoft-agrees-to-store-customer-data-in-germany A controversial new law requiring telecoms companies to retain details of Germans' communications for 10 weeks was passed on Friday with votes from 404 MPs. https://www.thelocal.de/20151016/parliament-to-vote-on-mass-data-collection-law Fri, 16 Oct 2015 10:57:39 +0200 parliament-to-vote-on-mass-data-collection-law