Web design & marketing tips by Ironpaper

Germany doesn’t like the Like button

Written by Ironpaper | Aug 22, 2011 3:30:23 PM

The German Independent Center for Privacy Protection (ULD) cited privacy violations and banned the Facebook Like button in the German state of Schlewsing-Holstein. The center called for the Facebook Like button to be removed. The ULD assert that the technology violates the the Telemedia Act and the Federal Data Protection Act in that it transfers data back to the US and out of German jurisdiction. Additionally, they claim that the button illegally tracks users’ web habits.

Essentially, this order calls for users, web designers and webmasters to shut down their fan pages on Facebook and remove social plug-ins such as the “like”-button from their websites. The German Government-issued press release also specifically points out that Facebook's web analytics tracking which tracks users of the plug-in for two years does adhere to EU or German standards of privacy protection. The center also cautioned users to not click on the Like button or set up Facebook profiles.

Fines for violating this new law could reach TMG at 50,000 €, and the deadline for responding is September 2011.

Source: ULD an Webseitenbetreiber: "Facebook-Reichweitenanalyse abschalten" - 19.08.2011 - P R E S S E M I T T E I L U N G
Web source: https://www.datenschutzzentrum.de/facebook/