Google is unhappy with proposed German legislation to ban anonymous e-mail accounts and may consider dropping the German version of its Gmail service.
"This whole initiative is a bad idea," a spokesman for Google in Germany said Monday.
The draft bill would require ISPs (Internet service providers) and providers of e-mail service to collect and store customer data that security officials could access if necessary.
In an interview with the German weekly business magazine Wirtschaftswoche, Google's Global Privacy Counsel Peter Fleischer was quoted saying that if the German government passes its proposed Internet surveillance legislation into law, "if need be, we will switch off Google Mail in Germany."
Fleischer could not be reached and the Google spokesman declined to comment on Fleischer's statement about possibly switching off Gmail in Germany.
In the interview, Fleischer urged the German government to drop its plans and warned that a German scheme to monitor e-mail was pointless, given that users could easily turn to foreign e-mail addresses.
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Computerworld Live Podcast #97: The Future of Enterprise Networking 25/07/2008 09:45:36
This week CW Live chats with Mark Thompson, global sales and marketing manager for HP ProCurve, on the future of the enterprise networking. Mark discusses the trends we can expect to see in the near future and how the right infrastructure can ensure your enterprise network is secure. - +
Computerworld Live Podcast #96: Security at the Edge 11/06/2008 09:22:22
CW Live speaks with Amol Mitra, HP ProCurve Director of Marketing for Asia Pacific and Japan. Today's topic: how enterprises are starting to shift away from simply controlling security via server logins, firewalls and moving to more adaptive security frameworks. - +
Data Management Edition #10: Multi-Petascale Systems 02/05/2008 09:12:33
This week we look at sustainability and the development of multicore technologies to build multi-petascale systems. - +
IT Security Edition #11: How to poison the Storm botnet 01/05/2008 08:51:55
This week CW Live presents a case study on how to poison the notorious Storm botnet . Plus we take a look at Cisco's plans for Ironport. - +
IT Security Edition #10: Cyber-battles fought and won 24/04/2008 11:09:47
Vendors bow to end user pressure to improve product security, and we take a look at the latest concepts shaping the cyber-battlefield of the future.
FrontRange Solutions launches HEAT Plus Mobile to reduce help desk costs and improve service management productivity 2008-12-02 15:15:00+11
AARNet Helps to Advance Indigenous Health 2008-12-02 12:44:00+11
Orbis selects Telstra International as its data centre partner for the UK, Europe and Middle East Region 2008-12-02 11:23:00+11
ComOps Deploys Corporate Performance Reporting Solution For Healthcare Test Manufacturer 2008-12-02 10:09:00+11
Mornington Peninsula Shire implements Objective to manage knowledge and deliver service excellence 2008-12-02 09:56:00+11
Making the Business Case for IT Consolidation
IT executives face the need to improve service delivery with limited resource increases. Two common strategies for achieving this are network and systems management tools and datacenter consolidation. Read on to discover how you can make a strong business case for IT Consolidation.
Buying Guides
