Google could shut down Gmail in Germany if data retention is passed

Search engine giant Google has revealed that they might be forced to shut down their Gmail service in German if the government passes the law requiring stringent data retention.

The company has said that this new telecommunications law is a “heavy blow against the private sphere.”

The law in question is the German version of the EU data-retention rules. If it is passed by the government, it would require all telecommunications companies to collect and keep private information on their German customers starting in 2008.

This would include information including Internet details, phone call information, and text messages. Peter Fleischer, Google’s Global Privacy Counsel spoke about their stance on this new law: “Many users around the globe make use of this anonymity to defend themselves from spam, or government repression of free speech. If the Web community won’t trust us with handling their data with great care, we’ll go down in no time.”

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