Information – understand-culture

German watchdog says Amazon cloud vulnerable to US snooping

US legislation means Washington could seek access to sensitive police data that Germany plans to store with Amazon Web Services.

April, 2019. BERLIN — Amazon’s cloud hosting services are not suitable for storing German police data due to a risk of U.S. snooping, Germany’s top data protection officer told POLITICO.

Ulrich Kelber, Germany’s federal commissioner for data protection and freedom of information, said that U.S. authorities could invoke the CLOUD Act to demand access to data held by Amazon Web Services — creating a risk for German government bodies that store data with them.

The CLOUD Act, passed last year by Donald Trump’s administration, allows American authorities to compel U.S.-based tech companies to provide requested data, regardless of whether that data is stored in the U.S. or abroad.

What is Bringschuld?

According to German law (§ 269 BGB) the obligation to deliver is one of the three types of obligation that determine the place of performance. In this case, the debtor must render the service at the creditor’s place of residence. This is where performance success also occurs.

Ms. X would like to redecorate her apartment and buys a couch from a furniture store. Due to the nature of the purchase contract, the company owes Mrs. X the delivery of the piece of furniture. The debt is only settled in Ms. X’s apartment, until then the furniture company is liable for the loss of or damage to the goods.

Police Have Too Much Access to People’s Data, German Court Rules

The Constitutional Court said that the current laws did not do enough to protect personal privacy in the digital realm.

July 2020. BERLIN — The German police and intelligence agencies have excessive access to citizens’ mobile and internet communications, the country’s Constitutional Court said on Friday, ordering the existing laws to be tightened.

It was the latest decision by the court to support personal privacy over public security concerns in the digital sphere, which, taken together, have made the country a world leader in protecting personal privacy.

Critics charge that the string of court decisions could hinder the ability of security services to prevent crimes and terrorist attacks.

Holschuld. Bringschuld. German law.

Holschuld: get obligation. Bringschuld: deliver obligation.

What is the difference between a debt to collect, a debt to bring and a debt to send?
In the case of a debt to be collected, the place of performance is with the debtor – the owed item must be picked up there by the creditor.

In the case of an obligation to deliver, the place of performance or fulfillment is with the creditor. The debtor must therefore pay at the domicile of the creditor. If there is a debt to be sent, the debtor must also send it.

The distinction is particularly important when it comes to the question of transport or shipment costs and the question of the transfer of the risk of the loss of the goods (e.g. if a package is lost in the post).

Against the German pettiness in data protection!

High time to start the argument for changes – the topic must not remain taboo.

Criticism of the US would be more credible if we, at least in Europe, had the same understanding of privacy and data protection. But that is by no means the case, as not only surveys show.

If all EU members had converted the 1995 data protection directive into national law in the same way and if all national supervisory authorities had interpreted the regulations in the same way, then most American “data octopuses” would hardly have settled in Ireland. 28 member states of the European Union, that also meant: 28 different views of data protection! So there was no question of Europe speaking with one voice to the US.

The Data Vice No One Talks About: Data Hoarding

One of the more peculiar subreddits (on a site full of them) is r/DataHoarder. The subreddit’s moderators describe the community as a forum for those suffering from the ‘digital disease’ of data hoarding, the practice of retaining, to an extreme degree, all forms of data.

With more than half a million members, the community prides itself on enabling those who suffer from an inclination to hoard data. One of the top posts is from a verified user who claims to have 87 TB of storage, at a cost of approximately 5,000 dollars.

The Data Vice No One Talks About: Data Hoarding.

How to use cc and bcc correctly

The fact that daily e-mail traffic becomes a time-waster for many office workers is often due to the careless handling of the cc and bcc fields. Do you know that too? They emailed information to a specific distribution group and cc’ed all of them.

And then you get some replies to your email. Such an approach is a common and annoying mistake in business email traffic. Often enough, it also happens that colleagues randomly fill in the CC or BCC line with addresses – the message could be of interest to more than just the actual recipient.

In this way, mailboxes are clogged up by bystanders, who have more work to do as a result. Show that professional handling of the cc and bcc looks different! When sending your email, always ask yourself: Who really needs to receive the message? Who is the addressee of the message? And who only gets to know them?

15 Ways To Fight Communication Breakdowns

Communication is key in all relationships, from personal to professional. However, sometimes even the strongest teams can suffer from poor communication.

This breakdown can be especially problematic when employees are scrambling to complete a major project or meet a tight deadline. To help you combat this issue, we asked 15 members of Forbes Coaches Council how leaders can improve team morale and get the lines of communication back on track.

Be careful with e-mails with an open mailing list

This error can result in a hefty fine. A small mistake when sending an e-mail can quickly cost thousands of euros. You can find out here how you can avoid getting into a sticky situation in the first place.

At least since the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), all sorts of legal stumbling blocks have been lurking in the handling of personal data. Such a mistake can also happen quickly when sending e-mails – and without realizing it.

Germany: Land of Data Protection

Understanding the German mentality to data protection and data privacy is fundamental to doing successful business in the country

Nowhere in the world are there stricter requirements for data protection and privacy than in the European Union – and within the Union, no other country stands for data protection more than Germany. If you want your business to be successful in Germany, you should know the reasons. They have to do with the country’s history.