The Battle Begins

On Sunday I wrote about Facebooks policy on “Real Names” and how it hurts trans people and now Germany has taken on Facebook.

Germany Takes On Facebook’s ‘Real Name’ Policy
ThinkProgress
By Lauren C. Williams
July 30, 2015

German privacy regulators determined Facebook’s controversial “real name” policy violates individual privacy rights under the country’s data protection law and that consumers can use pseudonyms if they choose.

The Hamburg data protection authority said Tuesday the social network could no longer force users to provide government documentation such as passports, drivers licenses, and other ID forms to verify their Facebook account and use the site.

“As in many other complaints against Facebook, this case demonstrates that the network wants to enforce the so-called real names policy with no regard to national legislation,” said Johannes Caspar, the agency’s commissioner, adding that pseudonyms are permitted under German law and “the unauthorised modification of the pseudonym … blatantly violated the right to informational self-determination and constitutes a deliberate infringement of the Data Protection Act.”

Of course Facebook is not taking this sitting down,

Facebook disagreed. “We’re disappointed Facebook’s authentic name policy is being revisited, since German courts have reviewed it on multiple occasions and regulators have determined it fully complies with applicable European data protection law,” a spokesperson said in a statement to ThinkProgress. “The use of authentic names on Facebook protects people’s privacy and safety by ensuring people know who they’re sharing and connecting with.”

Too bad we don’t have laws like Europe, but it would have to get through the Republican Congress where businesses can do no wrong.