Lost In Translation: German Gmail Stays Put

I finally heard back from Google yesterday about the possible Gmail ban in Germany. According to my source, the whole thing was a misunderstanding spawned from a misinterpreted quote from a theoretical discussion between Google’s global privacy people and the press. Peter Fleischer, from the Global Privacy Counsel went on the record with the following:

"We think that this law is bad for users and bad for privacy on the Internet. Google believes that users should have the right to create an email account without going through the hassle of having to prove exactly who they are. Anonymous email is particularly important for political dissidents, for example."

It's hardly surprising to hear Google take this stance, but it's still good to know that no one is in a rush to make the hypothetical ban legally binding. I have to admit though, a couple of alarms did go off when I'd heard the initial talk of the ban--especially since none of the numerous other email providers made so much as a peep. Now that you’ve heard the truth, make sure to pass it on. Purplemonkeydishwasher.