German spy chief says wouldn’t trust Facebook with his data
Wed., April 11, 2018
BERLIN – Germany’s domestic intelligence chief says he wouldn’t trust Facebook with his data.
Hans-Georg Maassen said he was “astonished how many people were surprised” by the privacy scandal surrounding Facebook users’ personal information.
Speaking Wednesday on the sidelines of a corporate security conference in Berlin, Maassen said he doesn’t have a Facebook account.
He told reporters that “as a matter of principle, I only entrust my data to companies that I’d really trust. And I wouldn’t have trusted Facebook with my data, I’ll say that quite openly.”
Asked whether he would like to question Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, as the U.S. Congress is doing this week, Maassen said: “I don’t have any questions for him at the moment.”
Far-right groups have actively used social media ahead of recent German elections.
Local journalism is essential.
Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are not tax deductible, but are predominately used to help meet the local financial requirements needed to receive national matching-grant funds.
Subscribe to the Coronavirus newsletter
Get the day’s latest Coronavirus news delivered to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter.