At an emergency summit in Berlin, German ministers have agreed to update data protection laws for the digital age in the wake of scandals that showed how easily personal details can be bought on the Internet. Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble called the meeting of political and business leaders Thursday, Sept. 4, to bring Germany's data-protection regulations up to date for the digital age and to reassure consumers that their details were safe. The conference comes in the wake of a series of privacy scandals. In mid-August, a former call center worker gave authorities a CD containing the bank details of 17,000 people whom he said his employer had procured from a lottery firm. The whistle-blower claimed to possess had the details of another 1.5 million people. To test how easy it was to procure personal details, German officials turned to the Internet, and managed to buy 6 million items of personal data for just 850 euros ($1,230) in a matter of a few days.
Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble called the meeting of political and business leaders Thursday, Sept. 4, to bring Germany's data-protection regulations up to date for the digital age and to reassure consumers that their details were safe.
The conference comes in the wake of a series of privacy scandals. In mid-August, a former call center worker gave authorities a CD containing the bank details of 17,000 people whom he said his employer had procured from a lottery firm.
The whistle-blower claimed to possess had the details of another 1.5 million people. To test how easy it was to procure personal details, German officials turned to the Internet, and managed to buy 6 million items of personal data for just 850 euros ($1,230) in a matter of a few days.
